Originally posted on www.prettyandwise.com
I hung out with my hairdresser last week. Her name is Megan and she is one of my favorite people. She is very good at what she does and our time together is not only a time of beauty therapy, but of laughter and catching on life.
All that being said, I work hard to see Megan as little as possible. I do my best to extend her splendid work of making me look like a real redhead (I’m not ya know,) as long as possible. In the between times of getting color I use this magical spray that hides my roots when they start to poke through. Those stubborn grays are well.. stubborn, and we have recently added an extra element to the coloring blend specifically to fight their insidious ways. I’m not even 50 yet for goodness sakes…I’m just not ready.
Before our last meeting as I was utilizing my magical root covering spray to its fullest potential I started thinking about roots. We all have them right? I mean, yours might not be gray yet (good for you,) but we all have them. And so much more important than the roots on our heads are the roots in our hearts. We all have them.
Ephesians 3:16-19 (NLT)
I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God's love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is.
Colossians 2:7 (NLT)
Let your roots grow down into him, and let your lives be built on him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness.
The goal, daughter of God, is that you will be rooted in God’s love. That in which our heart is rooted produces the fruit in our life and the life in our fruit. When firmly rooted in His love, our life fruit looks like Him. His love, His peace, His strength, His joy. To be firmly rooted in his love means when the storms of life come (and they will,) you won’t be completely blown over.
If only His love was the only rooting option.
Hebrews 12:15
Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God. Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many.
We see that our hearts can also be rooted in bitterness. Bitterness usually starts peeking up out of the depths of our souls in the form of negative thoughts about another person or a distrusting, cynical attitude toward someone who has offended us. That would be the fruit of bitterness displaying itself in our lives.
As I work to cover my gray roots we can work to cover our heart roots. Somehow though, they perseveringly poke their way through.
The fruit of bitterness has a way of displaying itself through our words, our tone and our facial expressions. It impacts us and those around us. It's a poisonous fruit that’s not good for anyone.
We can be rooted in fear. Fear of man, fear of circumstances. Fear of failure or rejection. This fruit often shows up as anxiety, perfectionism, insecurity, pride or anger.
We can be rooted in envy.
Proverbs 14:30
A tranquil heart gives life to the flesh, but envy makes the bones rot.
The facade of picked over fruit offered of others lives on Facebook and other social media outlets often contributes to this one. Remember daughter, all fruit can look lovely from far away but one must be up close to truly inspect it.
The root of envy often shows up as discontentment, ungratefulness, judgment and slander.
So what’s the answer? How do we get to the root of this root issue?
First, pray. Invite God to be your fruit inspector.
Tell Him your heart’s desire to display fruit that looks like Him.
Spend time in the truth of God’s Word. The word of God is a mirror that will help you see yourself more clearly. Ask the holy spirit to reveal the discrepancies between what currently is and what could be. He is the most kind and gracious fruit inspector and will gently and lovingly reveal truth in the absence of condemnation or judgment. More than you desire Godly fruit, He desires it for you because He knows that it is the harvest that will bring fullness of life to your soul.
Yield to His leading. Just like my grays, roots can be stubborn. Some require more effort to get rid of. There’s often work to be done. Forgiving someone who has hurt you. Letting go and moving forward. Speaking up or choosing to remain quiet. Learning to love and be loved.
Whatever it is, He has the answer and He will faithfully reveal the answer to you. As well, He will give you the strength and the courage to do what must be done. All you have to do is ask.
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