The Relevance of a Root System

                                                       

 Trust in the Lord is blessed because it keeps us rooted like a tree by water, reminding us to rely on His timing and plan.

Jeremiah 17:7-8

Early in my teaching career, I taught first grade. Never since have I taught a grade level with more fascination for learning. Blessed with an excellent mentor teacher with a strong interest in science, we hatched butterflies, mealworms, and chicks.  We grew a vegetable garden, made soup from its bounty, and experienced the effects of droves of ladybugs intended for our garden being let loose in the classroom! We had an explosion of gerbils and saw the wonder of beautiful Monarchs migrating south one year. The experiences of that time were rich, purposeful, and fun, and each passing one helped develop a foundation for future learning that would extend a love for knowledge beyond the surface level of mere facts and figures.

Such was the case with seed sprouting. Each year, students learned about the importance of a root system by germinating seeds. I had a large row of windows across one wall of my classroom. It drew in a vast amount of sunlight, perfect for this unit.  Each year, the students would place a seed in a small plastic bag on a damp paper towel and tape it to the window. In a matter of days, I would witness their amazement as the seeds changed and began to form roots. We transferred our potential plants to small cups filled with soil and buried the seeds deep within. Then came the hard part - watering and waiting. Some students followed the instructions carefully by giving just enough water and leaving it alone to do its work, but others lacked patience.  When they did not see results quickly, they watered more and more, and others dug into the cup to see what was holding up the results. Neither action encouraged the seed's growth; instead, it ended its potential.  Finally, the day came when some had sprouts or seedlings, and others had a cup of slimy mud, but there was a lesson for everyone.   Some saw the fruits of their patience and trust that the seed was really up to something; others faced disappointment when they did not trust the process of nature. 

The same is true for us. Isn't it? We need a root system to sustain us, to help us grow spiritually and thrive in our lives. Spiritual roots determine how we will handle our lives in times of joy and adversity.  Like the cups of soil and the decision of how much to water or whether to intervene in the process, we, too, have choices to make. Will we allow the roots of God's truth to grow deep within us by watering them with truths from His word and waiting in Him, or will we thwart our spiritual growth by doing things our way apart from His word, timing, and will? Will we be a tender shoot springing up with the potential to grow, thrive, and produce what He has called us to become and do, or will we settle for being an impatient muddy mess, stagnating and without the opportunity to grow and thrive? 

There's a lot to be said for those little plants that first hung in the window to get the sunshine needed and then were buried in darkness for the work of the Master to be completed. If God had such a specific design for the earth's plants, how much more are His plans for us? 

Don't rush the work of God in your life. He is definitely up to something. Be like the seed; wait for His change. Bury your will. Don't keep digging it up. The hard part is the watering and waiting, but wait anyway, even in the darkness. Trust that God's timing is perfect, even when progress seems slow, rest in the truth that God is never late. Instead, He is always right on time!

For additional reading: Luke 8:1-15