Rooted: My Story, His Truth — An Introduction
For three years, I have grown a love for words - both written and spoken- and for their power to heal and encourage others. It began when I started to see the freedom that comes when exposing our fears. I had a wall up for the majority of my life, not fully being honest with myself and therefore, to other people about my true feelings. I believed my problems weren't worth sharing or bringing up.
Eventually, it reached a point when my mind and body couldn't handle it anymore. It broke me. When I broke, that's when I started the process of healing. I sought help and started to see the true power of words - specifically, the power of opening up and being vulnerable. I learned that I wasn't crazy and that my thoughts weren't the end of me. There is real healing that can happen when we speak up about what we're thinking.
That realization began a rippling effect, leading me to continue using words through writing and journaling, and to begin sharing with those close to me what was really going on inside my heart and mind. (Side note: you also learn so much about yourself in that process, because you feel seen from just being you).
From then on, I carried a living dream to use a platform to share my story - but really, it's His story. The name Rooted came to me after months of having a love for all things flowers, especially wildflowers. That love continued to grow and eventually became part of my personality. One evening, I was brainstorming title ideas, boom - "Rooted" appeared in my mind.
Just like a flower is rooted in the ground, we can be rooted in Christ. And just as a flower must be rooted in good soil to bloom fully, we cannot fully bloom unless we're rooted in Truth - our Lord Jesus Christ. He says "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life, no one comes to the father expect through me" (John 14:6).
I have experienced freedom in Jesus, and it is exciting. I can't keep it to myself - I have to share it with the world. Our God is a good God, and He truly deeply desires an intimate relationship with each one of us. And so, Rooted was born: a space to share His love through my own experiences and learnings.
So, what does it mean to be Rooted?
"I am the vine; you are the branches." (John 15:5)
It's as simple as this: Jesus is the vine, and we - His image bearers (Genesis 1:27) - are the branches, the ones who flow from Him. This is His perfect design for His children.
"Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me." (John 15:4)
I love how he uses plants to describe our intimate relationship with Him. Think of a flower - you must water it for it to grow, much like our relationship with God right? Like any healthy relationship, it must be nurtured. A flower must also be rooted in good soil. It's common sense that if a plant is not planted, it cannot grow.
How beautiful is it that God gives us such a glorious and tender example of how to flourish? We, too, must be rooted in the right soil. If we are not, we already stand defeated - we will not survive.
"If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned." (John 15:6)
This makes me think of our world - of people standing on shaky ground, being tossed by every wind that comes their way. We can strive and strive, try and try, but where does it leave us? With more money? A better title? The reality is, those things may satisfy us for a time, but eventually they are no longer enough, and we find ourselves right back in the cycle of striving. This is because nothing is this world was ever meant to fulfill us the way Jesus does.
When God created us in the Garden of Eden, he gave us every seed-bearing plant on the face of the earth and every tree that has fruit with seed in it (Genesis 1:29). From the beginning, God provided for His children, commanding us to work and take care of all he provided (Genesis 2:15). There was a protection God provided - allowing us to live fully in His overwhelming presence and peace, something I can hardly fathom experiencing.
But humanity decided to sin against God, and that is when brokenness entered the world. We decided we were better off knowing everything ourselves rather than trusting the One who created us. Today, we are still living in a broken world, caught in the daily struggle between trusting ourselves and trusting God - between believing we know best and believing that His word is better.
His word is the soil we must be rooted in. Are you? Or are you rooted in the world - deceitfulness, striving, exhaustion, perfectionism, anxiety, depression, and the list goes on?
How good is our God that he never let his children be alone. He came to earth, fully man and fully God, to defeat the one thing separating us from Him: death. How can we not be rooted in the One that did that? Even after His death, He rose again - and He is coming back for us. His children still run from Him, still believing they know better, yet God waits patiently. We are never out of His mind. He still loves and cares for those who don't love Him
“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8).
He allows us to choose who - or what - our god will be, even though He alone is the one true God. What a humble God we serve, to give us that choice. The question isn't whether or not you are rooted - we are all rooted in something. The real question is: what are you rooted in?
To be rooted in Christ means having a firm foundation in the One who created you and fully trusting in His word.
Just like our faith, we must tenderly care for our flowers - removing unhealthy stems and weeds so they can grow taller and flourish.
" I am the vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that is will be even more fruitful." (John 15:1-2)
Like any plant, growth takes time. How marvelous is it that we have such a gracious and merciful Father who knows this? Our God is unhurried, and He knows our heart.
"The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in Love." (Psalm: 145:8)