Your Roots Are Showing

     root

- 

noun

a part of the body of a plant that develops...... and grows downward into the soil, anchoring the plant and absorbing nutriment and moisture.

One thing I love about summer and take most of the responsibility for is      mowing. I love it more, now that we have a riding lawn mower!

Our yard has several trees, and has somewhat of a slope to it. 

I've noticed the past several times that I've mowed, more roots seem to appear, and are steadily rising their heads above ground. Of course, this is due to rain after rain. 

e·rode

 

verb (used with object), e·rod·ed, e·rod·ing.

1.

to eat into or away; destroy by slow consumption or disintegration

As storms sweep through over time, whether strong or mild, the dirt gradually erodes away, exposing those roots.

This is a problem for me as I mow; I fear running over one of them and ruining our lawn mower, for starters! I might get fired from my job if that happens!

So, I have to dodge the roots, making my job more difficult. Even with the push mower, I cannot just run over them. These roots are pretty strong!

While mowing a couple of weeks ago, it occurred to me that this is a picture of life when the storms come.

Storms are meant to expose our roots. Don't believe me? 

Trials and Temptations

James 1:2-4

New International Version 

^2-4 Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.

Not my words :)

As the rain falls, it sometimes erodes all that is around us. It tries to destroy and consume that which is comfortable to us. It can eat away at those things in our lives like our joy. 

Yet bursting through, our roots can show!

They can hinder Satan from doing the job that he tries to do. Yes, he may hit one with the blade of his lies, but when we are deeply rooted in the word, he cannot destroy us. 

I'm reminded of Psalms 1:1-3

 Blessed is the one
    who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
    or sit in the company of mockers,
 but whose delight is in the law of the Lord,
    and who meditates on his law day and night.
 That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
    which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither—

    whatever they do prospers.

One version says like a tree "firmly planted." 

I know some people like this. The storms have ravaged their lives, eroding away what was "normal," and now they face a "new" normal. Yet, out of the mud and mire their roots burst forth. They are firmly planted, and their  roots of faith are evident. That's not to say it was easy or they never got scraped by the blades. But, through the storms, they have stood tall. (Psalms 40- He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the Lord and put their trust in him.)

Oh, I pray my roots will always show!

(Speaking of, I've got to go hi-light my hair now.)

³