“And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.” Colossians 2:6-7 NLT
It was the snow storm that we never saw coming. A few years ago when our family was living in Northern California, a freakish, out of the blue snow storm and deep freeze hit. Having grown up in the midwest I saw this kind of thing happen every winter. And I mean, every. winter. However, this particular region of California was known for its year-round sunshine, and famous triple digit summers…..they weren’t ready for the storm. As flurries fell from the sky, and temperatures began to slid south, it seemed as if all of nature was holding its breath to see who would endure the cold. As an entire inch of snow fell, our family gleefully formed slushy-ish snow balls, made hot chocolate and enjoyed a day off of school. Unbeknownst to us, huge parts of our city lost power, heat, and fell into a cold despair. I was used to this where I grew up, we expected it, but in Northern California? It seemed like no one was. In the midwest, the seasonal cold prepared us to annually have adequate clothing, alternative heat sources and the department of transportation was out with salt machines and plows on the road within minutes of thick flurries falling. It took days and then weeks for Northern California to recoup. At first I thought people were blowing things out of proportion, until I saw the aftermath of a tree that had fallen in our neighborhood. The freeze had caused one particular tree to be fall, its entire root system exposed to the elements. With little testing and even fewer trials this particular tree had developed an adequate root system for maintenance, but nothing to anchor it when a storm hit. We passed this street daily on our trips into and out of our neighborhood and the reminder was sobering. If left untested, and untried, the roots cannot adequately grow deep. But with testing, and trials, the roots will grow down deep, serving as an anchor for storms to come.
I can’t stop thinking about the parallels. How about you friend?
Before we go into the the valuable work of a deeper anchored root system….allow me to back up for a second and get really real with you, did you every ask yourself as a kid“if you could be an animal, what animal would you be?” ……I’m not talking about the new-agey ‘spirit animal’ just what tendencies did you see in yourself, reflected in your favorite animal. If I’m being honest, as much as I wish I was a majestic lion, or elegant swan…..something in me resonated with feeling like an ostrich. Fluffy, awkward, quick on their feet and a total scaredy cat when it came to challenges “just put your head in the sand! It’ll all blow over soon!” sounded like a good philosophy to me. But, Jesus in his kindness wouldn’t leave me alone. Slowly and steadily he coaxes me out of the sand, and calls me to put my feet on the rock.
I think God has been trying to get the ostrich out of me for years.
I guess you could say I am a recovering ostrich. And for some reason….trials, challenges and storms are his method of choice for taking us from fearful to faithful.
Back to the story at hand, I can’t help but see a greater purpose to challenges now. (Although, the metaphorical kind still freak me out.) While the temptation is certainly there to ignore, give in to fear, hide or put my head in the sand there is a greater purpose from Jesus at work. And, as always, Jesus is after our hearts. Jesus isn’t asking us to simply follow him, he’s much too attentive and thorough for that. Jesus is after our roots growing down deep, because he wants our lives to be built on and established in him. In his infinite pursuit and outrageous kindness, he is after the entire foundation, and ecosystem of our lives. Anything less and we will be ill prepared for the storms that will inevitably come.
As a recovering ostrich, I would like to feebly offer you this piece of advice: go deep. GROW deep. Say yes and amen to Jesus again and again, and again. There is no purpose greater than a deep, and abiding walk with Jesus. Yes, storms and challenges will come. But so will Jesus. In the end, step by step, moment by moment and trial by fire (or storm)…..we’re presented the opportunity to put our head in the sand or let our roots grow down deep.
The choice is yours friend, but from one recovering ostrich to another, be found with your roots growing deep and your life built on Him. And Him alone.
So much love,
Joy