If you have read any of my blogs in the past, you have seen that I always end them with “He gives us Roots so we can Fly. Roots and wings.” I wanted to share why that is my tag line. My love of writing is big and so my tag line was really important to me, I wanted it to be meaningful and applicable to myself and the type of style writing I do. Let me start with the who in my tag line. The “He” is of course speaking of God. God has been a part of my life for my whole life. I would not be where or who I am today without his guidance and help. He comes first in my tag line and comes first in my life. He gives us roots. Roots. They spread in all directions under the ground, bigger, thicker, deeper than the tree itself, keeping the tree grounded, they are the tree’s strength. If a storm comes along, it is the tree’s roots that hold it secure in the ground against any wind and rain that tries to uproot it. God gives us roots. He teaches us through his word and through the life he brings us through. Each of our roots are different, they may go in different directions, some may just be growing into the ground as we begin a relationship with God. Others’ roots may dig ten or fifteen feet down into the ground and ten to fifteen feet out due to a life lived, wisdom gained, mistakes made, tripped up, and gotten back up. Roots tell our story. They start out small but through time and experiences they grow deeper and stronger. There’s a verse that I love, it’s found in Jeremiah 17:7-8 and it says, “Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord. He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.” That is us. Those trees that send our roots to the water, the water being God. If we put our lives in God’s hands, we will have nothing to fear. God will get us through anything and everything and along the way we will grow stronger and our roots will grow deeper in God.
The next part are the wings. You see some people think of roots and they think of the word “stuck.” That if they have roots, they will have to stay in the same place. But when we grow our roots in God, the exact opposite happens, we gain wings. We do not become these people who are unhappy and stuck in the same place. We become angels who have wings to fly. When we have God we have everything. We can do anything. When we get grounded in God, in his word, when we grow a relationship with him, we gain it all, anything we can imagine. Roots make us immovable, meaning we cannot be moved by the world, swayed by the evil in the world. Roots make us strong against the devil’s attacks. So, when we have roots, we are free to fly in God’s spirit. His roots give us wings. How awesome is that?! We gain strength, wisdom, truth, love, peace, joy, all the good things and on top of that we grow wings to fly and do anything in Christ! His word sets us free. His love makes us invincible. His wisdom guides us. Romans 8:31 tells us that If God be for us, who can be against us?
Take some time to look at your roots today. Think on your life and where your choices have taken your roots. Have you chosen to take the road the world has layed out for you to live? Have you always taken the easy way out when you run into a problem? Have you chosen to do it all on your own? If so, what are your roots grounded in? Who are your roots grounded to? Are they strong? Strong enough to face the next storm? Or have you chosen God. Put your trust, your faith, your life in the hands of the creator. Do you go through storms with confidence that you will make it out the other side because you know God will never leave you nor forsake you? Do you wake up each morning and remind yourself that “this is the day the Lord has made so I will rejoice and be glad in it?” Do you dig into your word in order to know God more? Do you pray even when things are going right? Are you living your life with wings on your back knowing that you can do anything in God? Are you ready to take flight when God calls? That’s what having roots in God is like, fearless, ready to fly, living a life that shines, a life that is well lived. I hope you’re working on your roots and wings today. Don’t worry if they aren’t full grown, that takes a lifetime. What matters is the trying. Don’t forget that as long as you are growing your roots near the stream, you will always bear fruit.
He gives us Roots so we can Fly. Roots and Wings.