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Dig Your Roots Deep—But Where?

Kimberly Rae

“For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river . . .” Jeremiah 17:8

I’ve been cutting roots since childhood—not in a garden, but in my life. I’m a Navy brat; my dad was in the military for twenty-two years, and during those years, he and my mom moved seventeen times.

It was good practice for me, I suppose. I caught “the bug”: After spending two years in any given place, I’m ready to move on to something new. This was a wonderful help when I left home at age twenty-two to spend two years as a missionary in Bangladesh. It helped again when I left for East Africa at age twenty-six. Being uprooted wasn’t very painful for me.

But things change. I returned from Africa. I got married. And in these past six months, my husband and I have bought a house, fixed it up, and prepared for life as missionaries in restricted-access countries. I didn’t realize it fully, but as one delightful day followed another delightful day, tiny roots sprung out of my heart and twined themselves gently around my new home, our families, and my secure relationship with our church.

When my six months at home were over, we packed up all the things I had lovingly used to make our house a home. We readied our home to rent out to strangers. We sold a car. We said goodbye. Change is still exciting, but I can feel those roots trying to hold on, until after my tugging and jerking they are snapping, one by one.

We all have roots. Some of us dig our roots deep into our hometown, or our church structure, or our career choice. We wrap ourselves so securely around these things that we feel safe, settled, and at home. This is a good thing, until we have to uproot for some reason. Suddenly, those warm and safe roots become a stranglehold. We try to pull away, but the roots remain wrapped around whatever we leave, and we move on feeling part of ourselves left behind. I know going overseas is the right thing for us to do, but I feel like I’m leaving with half-shredded roots still reaching out behind me.

What are we supposed to do about making roots? Roots aren’t bad, but they should never keep us from obedience. God often speaks about roots in His Word. Over sixty times, God addresses this issue. Let’s look at our options:

OPTION 1:

Don’t have any roots at all.

Some of us may wonder, since uprooting causes so much pain, why develop roots at all? Wouldn’t we all be better off if we didn’t settle, didn’t put down roots anywhere? I tried that philosophy for a few years and found it didn’t work. We aren’t meant to be unconnected to everything. Just as a tree with no roots is destined to topple, a person with no roots is destined to fall. Even trees without roots cannot grow and cannot stand through the smallest of storms.

As the body of Christ we are to be connected to others in a bond of unity (1 Corinthians 12:12). We were created to live in community and fellowship with others.

OPTION 2:

Put your roots in worthless things.

We might know that we’re not to be rooted in worthless things, but the question is: What do we actually do? What do you find yourself spending regular time on?

What do you run to, to get away from it all? The mall? The TV? A fiction novel? Food? These things aren’t bad in moderation, but if we find ourselves growing to depend on them for strength, we have developed roots in the wrong places.

In 1 Kings 14:15 God uproots Israel as a punishment. Israel had dug roots into idols made by man. Can you think of the man-made idols we can mistakenly cling to? Ask yourself: Could I live for a week without ________? Our lives are not intended to be controlled by worthless idols and addictions. Trees with roots wrapped around unstable things are as destined to fall as the ones with no roots at all.

OPTION 3:

Put your roots in good things.

What about all the good roots we have spread into and around all the good things in life—our families, our friends, our churches, our careers? Job had secure roots in many good things, and in one day, all was uprooted (Job 29:19).

I don’t believe it is wrong to be rooted to the good that God has blessed us with. Those roots are good, but they are not secure. No matter how tightly we may wrap our hopes and dreams around our children, they may walk away from God. Families change. People die. Relationships get severed. We move. Sickness and natural disasters all make those roots vulnerable. If our roots are all wrapped up in only the good and not the best, we may find ourselves toppling suddenly when life tears our circumstances into pieces.

OPTION 4:

Secure your deepest roots in the only secure place.

So what is the best way? There must be something more solid, and yet more flexible, to dig our roots into than our comfort zone. Is there any way to have truly secure roots that we never have to worry about? Yes! Jeremiah 17:7–8 says, “Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, and whose hope is the LORD. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes; but its leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of drought, nor will cease from yielding fruit.”

I don’t like the idea of “uprooting” myself from my family and friends that I love to move half a world away. But my roots in Christ will stay. It is my choice which roots to develop—the ones that may break, or the ones that are secure. I still need to invest time and energy and love into the relationships in my world. But my roots—the parts that draw sustenance; the parts that hold me firm; the parts that keep me from toppling over—those roots must be in Christ, not in myself, my comfort zone, or even in people. Colossians 2:7 says we are to be, “Rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving.” As we obey the Lord to go where He has called us, we feel the pain of change and adjustment to new circumstances of our lives. However, when we are rooted and grounded in Him, no matter where we go, we never need to feel uprooted again.