Father, I can think of no reason to not be thankful for a “routine” day. There’s been a couple of different elements but all in all, it has been good. Thank You for blessings in whatever shape or size they may come.

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In the spring of 2021, after a combination of heavy rain and high winds one of our neighbor’s spruce trees fell over. It didn’t snap mind you; it just fell over, root base and all. I have seen other types of trees do the same thing (I can think of two that I’ve seen on my bus route) but evergreens are prone to this problem.

The trouble specifically is that their root system does not go down, it tends to go out instead. Some trees have deep tap root systems – nut trees, oaks, and pines. The longest tap root ever dug up was from a wild fig tree in South Africa. It went almost 400 feet deep!

According to the U.S. Forest Service, blue spruce trees develop shallow roots after seeds germinate, perhaps only 2 to 3 inches deep. This reveals that this tree species grows with a spreading, shallow root system.

So, what kind of “root system” do you have? When the storms of life come howling about you, are you quickly down for the count? Do the winds of adversity take you out? Or like a mighty oak, are you grounded with a tap root deep into the soil, and then the rest of your root system radiates out from the trunk 3–7 times wider than the spread of the branches?

The Apostle Paul stresses in his writings to the church in Ephesus,

May (God) grant you out of the riches of His glory, to be strengthened and spiritually energized with power through His Spirit in your inner self, [indwelling your innermost being and personality], so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through your faith. And may you, having been [deeply] rooted and [securely] grounded in love, be fully capable of comprehending with all the saints (God’s people) the width and length and height and depth of His love [fully experiencing that amazing, endless love]; Ephesians 3:16-18 AMP

We all know that life can easily become overwhelming. No one is exempt. No one gets a free ride. We all get more than our fair share of struggles and heartaches and loss. And the only way to not succumb to it all is to be [deeply] rooted and [securely] grounded in love…not the love of this world but God’s love. And with all of God’s people may we come to understand the width and length and height and depth of His love.

And in case you still have your doubts, read these words of Paul to the Church in Rome.

For I am convinced [and continue to be convinced—beyond any doubt] that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present and threatening, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the [unlimited] love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39 AMP

Amen!

Jan 11th, 2023, Wed, 12:17 pm