Your Roots are Showing

It had been several months since I had bothered to make a hair appointment. I knew my roots had been getting out of hand, but being in a season of busy, and well..summer, I decided I wouldn't let it bother me too much. After all, there ARE such things as hats and head wraps for people like me; ya know...the ashy and gray, going for the 3 incher dirty look. 

At one point it had gotten so bad, I ended up having a dream that my stylist had shown up at my work with foils in her hand, going after my hair, telling me I had missed my appointment. Lol! Never have I had a prompting to get my hair done before, so clearly it was time. 

A week or so later she got me in to work her magic and I began looking like a new woman. Without  saying too much about how long it had been or how bad my roots were, she simply just said.."well at least roots are "in" right now." 

We both chuckled, and then she said, "See, look at mine...I have roots." With which I replied, "Those aren't roots...those are "intentional" roots!” Meaning, the kind where you apply a rich dark color to perfectly contrast with the rest of the unneglected color scheme throughout. To which she knowingly smiled in agreement, "Yes, intentional roots." 

Fast forward to this morning as I hit the woods for my typical hike on familiar trails. No new ground laid, about the same distance every time..except I always try to combine this time with Jesus who always wants to bring something new. You could say that I've come expectant on these trails, mostly for God and maybe wishful for the bod.

Whether I'm praying or listening to a podcast, I try to stay alert to my surroundings, for safety.. yes, but also because of the beauty I don't want to miss. However, the trail itself can also have its hazards, no matter how familiar, and I've certainly tripped or had my fair share of falls. 

This morning was no exception, only this time God would make me keenly aware of what was going on in my mind while my feet were Fred Flinstoning their way to my safety. A save! Whew..that could have been messy! Thanks God.

When I turned around to find the culprit, I wasn't much surprised to see a huge tree root sticking up from the ground. 

I've stumbled over plenty before, and usually take careful steps to avoid getting caught.

But as I carried on down the trail I kept thinking about "deep roots.” These trees, every single one of them, very large and vibrant with life; their roots clearly running deep and deeper still. Yet the truth about deep roots is that they also run very wide. 

And as wind, and rain, and friction make their way through, these wide twisting roots become increasingly exposed. 

I thought about how I felt during my tripping episode...(truly I'm talking about seconds here), and realized the very first thought that had fell into my mind.

 “Omg...who can see me?” 

Isn't that funny? I mean...I'm sure it looked very funny, but pride. Instant pride. In the middle of the woods. Alone. Not.. “Who’s going to save me when I die?” Trying to gain control over over my body to avoid a face plant, and all I can think of is how foolish I look.

What a recovery though! Wow..dodged that bullet...carrying on. 

Picturing all this, I giggled and said, “Lord, what would you have me know about stumbling over deep roots?” 

Immediately I began to think of my friendships and the ones I have yet to meet. 

Scripture tells us to be deeply rooted in Him..strengthened in the faith; that we are already rooted and established in love. HIS love. 

So what on earth? Obviously all good stuff comes from deep roots. In fact, I have plenty of friends who I would call deeply rooted in the Lord and I love and appreciate them all.

 So if their deep roots were to also be exposed, I'd automatically be happy for them, right? How would that make me stumble or quite possibly fall on my face?

Certainly I wouldn't want to think that I'd be that type of friend. Surely I can possibly be just as rooted as them, right? But in broken areas of my heart..the way I respond to certain people, the way I care too much about what people think, the way I avoid being real about this topic or that; somehow there are places where my gray dark roots run about 3 inches deep. I know it's not cute, and obviously my friend over there has those intentional deep roots in my weak area..Hat goes on.

But when deep roots are exposed, so are we. We can keep our relationships at arms length and carefully tip toe around our insecurities and struggles, but eventually when we least expect it, we trip on each other's love roots. 

Why? 

Because we need them so desperately; we need to see Him so clearly. And if we land on our face, we will hope someone sees us. 

Lord..Jesus! Show us those areas we are spinning our wheels to stay upright; where we think we look ridiculous and can't seem to gain ground. 

Our diets, harsh talk, impure thoughts, jealousy, anger, distrust, insecurity, lack of self discipline...

Lord let us get close enough to trip over the exposed roots of our friends; to have the relationships you need us connected to. 

Let us take off our head wraps and look foolish for your glory so that our established roots may spread wide enough to be exposed, and weathered enough to catch somebody!