Rooted

    A little pondering entry to start this post.

    What is home?

    Is it security? Is it that feeling of safety, knowing that you can put your guard down and let go of it completely leaving it behind you on the floor not caring if it is trod upon? Is it steady, reliability? Is it a feeling? Is it a piece of space and time in which you are safe, treasured, seen, and loved? Is it the well-known glances or smiles that immediately bring light and relief to your heart? Is it hearing the voices of dearly loved ones over the phone or in person that fill your heart with joy? Is it a group of people in which time spent together is healing and there is little need for translation? Is it a building or a place? Can you walk there? Do you have to take a plane? Can you point to it on a map? Is it one place or many? Is it a view that once you see it your heart swells and you know that you are home, back to a place of belonging? Is it familiarity, knowing a place well enough to walk it blindfolded or not need directions? Is it familiarity with people? Is it memories? What is home? 

    I have lived in more houses than I care to count. I have said more goodbyes than I care to count. My life has been shaken up more times than I care to count. I have lost people, places, and things in the blink of an eye. Over and over again. Growing up in this way I had two very different responses depending on the situation. If a place, situation, or group of people, etc. seemed safe I would stick my roots out as quickly as possible eagerly searching for anywhere, anyone, that would let me in. I would be bold, get involved, and be active in trying to make friends and find where I belonged. If a place, situation, or group of people did not seem safe or worth inevitable pain, I would draw up my roots. I would keep to myself and be involved as least as possible. As I got older, I preferred the latter more and more, because I never knew when we or someone else would be leaving again. I decided it was best that I protect myself from the pain I know well but have never become accustomed to. 

 So, as I was pondering this more God gave me a picture before my trip to Colorado. (I wrote about my trip in a previous post) While I was there, I sketched it out and since then it has been in the back of my mind as God continues to teach me lessons from it. 

    One aspect of this that I had been thinking about before He gave me the picture was the feeling of being uprooted time after time by moving around so much. Being uprooted so much to the extent that it felt like if I moved one more time, I wouldn't be left with any roots at all. 

    I have struggled with making friends, getting into new groups, and speaking up in general. Recently, I've felt more comfortable in a group that I'm in and am very slowly starting to become confident enough to actually speak up. I asked myself why this is. The answer? Because I'm starting to feel safe with them. Cue a lightbulb moment from God. I wait a long time to feel comfortable with people, due to moving around so much, and it occurred to me that in doing so I'm looking to people for a feeling of security. When in reality, this need is already fulfilled. I couldn't be more secure. I couldn't be safer. I am in the arms of the Almighty God. This world can't add anything to that.    

    I feel like God gave me this picture in response to my ponderings on being without roots. I saw His hands cupped holding a tree. The roots of this tree went into the veins of His hands and His life, and His blood, was the lifeblood of the tree. The tree was a palm tree. In the background of this picture, I saw different scenes. God would bring the tree to different scenes, and the scenes would change around the tree. However, God never let go of the tree or its roots. 

    Palm trees have a unique root system. Their many roots grow down to an extent and then grow outwards. This enables them to endure most of the harsh tropical storms without being snapped or uprooted. They can bend more with the wind than most trees, bending back and forth yet still completely rooted and secure. 

    I heard God say, "You are rooted in Me. Not in this world. This world will change, it's not permanent. I am permanent. I Am your constant. I Am the One you are rooted in so no matter where you are, or where you're not, no matter how hard the wind is blowing, I Am your Foundation. I Am your Lifeblood and your Strength."  

    It's been so amazing to think about over the past few weeks, especially as God keeps bringing it to mind and showing me various ways to apply it throughout the days. Gently and lovingly, He has been showing me where I have been depending more on this world than I have on Him, the true source of Life. 

Jeremiah 2:13

"For my people have done two evil things: They have abandoned me- the fountain of living water. And they have dug for themselves cracked cisterns that can hold no water at all!"

John 4:13-14 

"Jesus replied, "Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. But those who drink the water I give will never become thirsty again. It becomes a bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life." 

    There is so much freedom in realizing that my roots, my source of Life, and all that I need, are in God. This world is so temporary. Over my life, I have tried to place my roots in its various "wells" promising a relief from thirst. Wells that I thought I could find satisfaction in, I thought they were what I longed for. God gave us this thirst and this longing to call us to Himself. We can only be truly satisfied when we seek fulfillment from the Creator, not in His creation. I thought that home could be found here on this earth. I have spent most of my life searching, and longing to find a place, a group of people, or space in time where I belonged. Safe. Wanted. Seen. Loved. I have searched for the answers to all of the questions listed at the beginning of this post. I believe all of those things can be a taste of true Home. I believe God gives us these tastes to whet our appetites for Heaven and lift our eyes to Him. 

    Recently I started reading a devotional studying some of the primary names of God. Once again, God in His perfect timing had this devotional lined up with the things He has been showing me. This particular week the devotional went over the name, "EL OLAM", which is translated as "The Everlasting God" or "The Eternal God". As Christians we are rooted, we are founded in The Everlasting God. What a relief for our souls! We do not have to strive to find satisfaction in this fickle and temporary world. This world, all of creation is not made for us to sink our roots into and find complete satisfaction, it is instead designed to point us back to our Creator, and Heavenly Father. He is the only one that can satisfy us. We are designed to long for the glory of God. The glory in this earth is but a shadow in comparison to the glory that will not only satisfy us but overwhelm us. This is what we long for. 

    Ecclesiastes 3:11

    "He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end."

    Psalm 66:4

    "All the earth worships you and sings praises to you; they sing praises to your name."

    Revelation 5:13 

    "And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, "To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!" 

    Psalm 90:1-2

    "Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations. Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the whole world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God."

    This verse struck me in a new way the other day. This is a psalm that Moses wrote. Even by itself, this verse is impactful, delving deeper and considering the context only makes it more so. Moses wrote this psalm as the Israelites were finishing the Tabernacle. They had been slaves in Egypt, then became sojourners wandering as a result of disobedience before coming to the land God called them to. In all of this Moses sees that God had been their dwelling place, their constant, since the beginning of time. Some versions say place of comfort or home.     

    It can be easy to forget that God is our Lifeblood. Our only constant, only true Home, and only true Hope. This life can be so full of distractions, and the enemy uses our fleshly desires to fight hard against us. Staying in scripture helps us remember. If you, dear reader, have found yourself in the painful battle of forgetting who God is in your life read the following verses aloud to yourself and let God speak to you. 

    Psalm 63:1-5

    "You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; 

I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water. 

I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory. 

Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands.

I will be fully satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you."

    Why is it so easy to seek satisfaction in the creation rather than the Creator? 

    I think one main reason is the enemy in this world. John 10:10 "The thief comes only to steal and kill, and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full." As Christians, we are targeted by the devil, who uses a variety of tactics to get us away from God. The devil uses our desires and fleshly nature to seek satisfaction from the things of this world. This life is a battle, we need to stick close to the One who already holds the victory. Another reason I think we so easily seek satisfaction from the world is that we forget who we are and who God is. I believe this is another tactic the enemy uses. We so quickly forget that we are dearly loved children of the Most High God with hearts designed to long for Him and the place where we can be together forever. We forget who God is, not only the Creator of the world but the only one that can ever fulfill the longing within us. Our Father. Protector. Healer. Sustainer. All in All. Worthy of All Praise, All Worship, All Glory. King over All. LORD. Savior. Holy. Mighty to Save. 

    What does it mean to be satisfied in God? To be rooted in Him?

    To see Him as all that we need and trust that no matter what happens He is in control. 

Ending questions to contemplate. Where do you run to? Where do you expect to be filled? Where are you rooted? To help answer that question, contemplate this question. What are you terrified of losing and why? 

God bless you, Dearly Beloved Child of the Most High King. Seek Him with all that you are.