Deeply Rooted Again
t is wild and windy. Spring can often be unpredictable, but usually there are days in between when the wind dies down and there is calm. This season, though, is wild. Trees and branches crash down, some taking power lines with them. Our poor trees are taking a hammering, tossed this way and that. We are trying to keep a large feijoa tree alive, dug out last week by the digger preparing our site for the new garage. Bagged and watered, staked and tied, but clearly, not enough to cope with the force of these wild winds! A new strategy was needed.
Where on our property could this tree find shelter from the wind, still receive sunlight, and be close enough to reach with the hose for regular watering? We walked the property, pausing in different spots to test each one, until the perfect position was chosen, protected by the workshop on one side, and by the fence and garden shed on the other. Morning to midday sun, and close enough to be watered.
To give this tree any chance of survival, we needed to take it out of its planter bag, meant only for temporary care, and dig it deep into the ground. The poor thing, in just one week, has taken a battering. Perhaps some thinning of the branches and cutting back would help, so the roots wouldn’t have to work so hard to support so many leaves. We hope we’ve moved it in time.
How often nature speaks to us about our own lives. We can be planted deeply in good soil, thriving, and then, without warning, something changes. Through no choice of our own, a restructuring takes place, a diagnosis, an old building makes way for something new, and something has to go. In those temporary seasons, without deep roots, we can feel battered and worn by the winds of change. There seems to be no break between the gusts, and we struggle to stand tall.
So what is called for? Do we simply wait it out, hoping the winds will die down? Or do we allow ourselves to be replanted, to find that new place where we can once again take root, grow strong, and thrive?
When the winds of change feel relentless, we can trust that God knows exactly where to replant us. Though the uprooting may feel harsh, His purpose is always to help us take deeper root in Him. In His perfect timing, He settles us where we can stand strong, draw living water, and once again bear fruit that lasts.
P.S. A great big thank you to you all for bearing with me through the learning of different technologies to get a blog out via email. Trying new things and to settle on something that feels right and works well.
I commend you for your patience and bearing with me on this journey.
