Good day, Purposeful Hearts! In working through this series, I’ve really been contemplating the battle of “stuck vs. still” in my own life (as I “put down roots” with my family) and thought about how much it really matters what you’re rooted to.
WARNING: Obligatory tree metaphor! As we explore what we’re “rooted” to in this life, it makes perfect sense that we consider the health and anatomy of a tree! From root to crown, we can draw a lot of similarities between a tree’s living conditions and resulting health and our own surviving or thriving existence. Today, we’ll specifically focus on what happens when we develop roots that only penetrate the surface – we fill our lives with surface pursuits, surface comparisons, and a surface-level identity. Let’s get started!
If I’m tapped into the societal buzz around achievement, whose kids are the busiest, brightest, and best, then experiencing the repetition of life will end up feeling empty. My pursuits are superficial and the depth of my existence stays shallow!
Pursuit after pursuit, we find that the accomplishments in and of themselves aren’t that fulfilling. But it’s so easy to feel pressure to “perform” this way. I have a close friend who, when we run into each other, defaults to stating how busy she is and listing all of her endeavors and family responsibilities. How tempting to want to match and compare! So, we end up falling into the trap of:
Especially in our current world, where so many of our struggles are centered on phrases like “not being seen” and “not feeling like enough”, these shallow comparisons are truly shallow roots because they make us forget WHO WE TRULY ARE – children of God. If I am only “enough” based on my accomplishments and busyness, I’ll never get there – I’ll be labeling myself with shallow descriptors and end up defining myself with a surface identity.
There are other complications with maintaining this shallow-rooted existence! What about the tasks in life that make us feel busy, but will never be done? I can say things like, “The laundry is done” or “I’m done with the dishwasher” or “the house is clean” – but those activities will only allow me to produce a temporary checkmark. And that’s irritating – if I let it be. Boy, how my attitude makes a difference when I’m faced with these never-done chores. Do I have to do them, or do I get to do them? (Am I blessed to do them?)
Also, some of us have trouble being “still” for a while – we’re so used to constant stimulation and entertainment, that it’s hard not to reach for the phone and scroll. It’s hard to just sit with your thoughts and hear them play out.
So, let’s look at what’s happening with our tree: the environmental conditions were too challenging for the roots. It established itself with only a shallow connection to the earth, which hurt its access to nutrients, water, and stability. It lacked sunlight. In this deprived state, it couldn’t survive.
You’re not created to live this way, either! Come back next time to learn how to develop the kind of deep roots that lead to a thriving, yet still, life!
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