When Roots Hold...

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." John 15:5

Like you, I am a woman whose life often runs over...that is my calendar does anyway. My hours are filled with the normal worries of life...work responsibilities and meetings, relationships I am trying to build and maintain, family needs and responsibilities, and the attempt to eek out some space to do the things that in my late thirties/early forties I ought to be doing to care for myself so that I can lead a long, healthy life. For me on a daily basis, that looks like doing the many things a pastor does...wearing the many hats a pastor must wear, connecting with the community where I live...trying to build relationships with my neighborhood and be a good light in my little context, being a wife and mother...taking care of a household, being present to my husband, and running rampant keeping up with school, sports, and other activity schedules for my two boys, and in between it all...finding space to eat well, drink water, exercise, read scripture, pray, and be present to God. It is a lot most days. And like you, sometimes I get overwhelmed trying to keep myself rooted.

Then there are those moments when life gets more than chaotic...and storms bear down on life. We've all been there...the clouds take different forms...the wind, the rain, the torrent that come...look different for each of us...but we know what it is to weather a storm of life. I can remember seasons of life where I felt like a tree bent to the ground, my branches swept against the earth, my trunk doubled over threatening to snap in half...pummeled by rain, twisted in the cyclone of gusting wind...I wasn't sure I would survive. Circumstances of life and ministry have threatened to tear my roots from the ground.

And yet, in the midst of the storm, my roots held. It wasn't me. I didn't keep myself rooted. It was God.

As long as I can remember, my soul has known God's voice and presence. Since I was very young, my soul has sought to put little roots down into the depths of God's presence, His will, His love. Over the years, those roots have grown and multiplied, not without encountering barriers and hindrances...there have been rocky spots, droughts, and damage along the way...but still, those roots have found their way deep into the presence of God. God has nourished, protected, and fostered those roots. Over the years, through mentor relationships, education, study, prayer, and surrender to God, those roots have developed and taken hold.

In the seasons of storms, God has held tight to those roots...He has faithfully and tirelessly held tight to me. Even in the moments where I was sure my own strength would give way...where I would be snatched from the ground...God held firm. My roots held.

It was not my own strength that held them...I didn't keep myself rooted. It was not anything of my own power...it was my surrender. It was my giving up of myself...of allowing God to direct my roots. It was a surrendering of my own desires, myself, my everything, that God took hold and carried me through the storm.

Sisters, your story may look different from mine. Your journey may have taken you down a very different path...you may be new to God...and perhaps you have not had much time to sink your roots into God. Perhaps you have known of God or even known God for a long time, but you have never sought to grow deep roots into God's presence, to surrender to God's directing of your roots. No worries...begin today. With God, even the smallest of roots can bring us through treacherous storms...because it is not our roots that hold on to God, but God who holds on to our roots. Once our roots begin to explore God's presence, our souls hunger and thirst for more and more of God. And, the beautiful truth and mystery of God is that there are unimaginable depths to explore being rooted in God. Today, let your soul dig deep into the presence of God...surrender yourself to Him. Together, we can weather the chaos of this life...God will hold tight to our roots.