Recently in my porch sitting and children chasing and settling into my new home, I've thought a lot about this word: rooted.
Rooted: to establish deeply and firmly.
We often think of rooted in terms of gardening, don't we? We plant seeds in pots or in the ground and hope that their roots grow into a beautiful harvest. Or the case of my family these days, we are thinking a lot about roots in our grass growing process. Every night my husband goes out to water the lawn and checks to see if the sod has truly rooted yet? For if the sod doesn't take root in the dirt, our huge investment of grass for our yard will wither away (but so far mostly good!)
The guiding principal is this: when strong roots are present, long-term growth is possible. Without roots, the beauty of today simply is fleeting!
But have you ever thought about how your life has roots?
Recently, I picked up the book by Melody Warnock called This is Where you Belong-- a memoir about a family's journey to stop moving around the country with they got bored or wanted a new opportunity, but to intentionally claim a town as their place. In it, Warnock offers this:
People can be divided into three categories: the mobile, the stuck, and the rooted. We tend to focus on the first two—the mobile, who can pick up and move to opportunity—and the stuck, who lack the resources to leave where they are…but we cannot forget about the rooted: those who have the means and opportunity to move, but choose to stay…because they’re content where they are.
I really loved thinking through these three words: mobile, stuck and rooted. And then considering how rooted regardless of circumstances, is a choice. Sure we could do a thousand things but we can choose the path of stability and the long view.
For be rooted somewhere is to want the very best for it and to do your part to help its becoming.
Warnock writes of her journey to be rooted in a city in Virginia and all of its surprises. The more she sought give back to her new home, more it became life-giving to her too.
Kind of reminds me then of the scripture from Jeremiah about a group of people finding themselves living where they would have never chosen to live, yet the spiritual wisdom God gives them in a hard time is this: "Seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare."
I don't know where you are today in your satisfaction with your life geographically, vocationally or even in the relationships that surround you. But I do know this: there is an invitation to you to grow where you are.
How can you water your life with a commitment of "this is where I am" so that your roots lengthen this week?
XO
Elizabeth
