PoP - Complacent Roots

A few months ago, a friend and I planted seeds for our future gardens and began waiting eagerly to see green emerge from the small containers of dirt. Due to the setups of our homes, we each gave our seeds a different environment in which to grow. My friend was able to keep her seeds inside where they got to enjoy the warmth from her woodstove and the sunlight beaming in from her dining room windows. My seeds, however, did not get such luxury, due to a lack of space inside and the lack of a woodstove. Instead, I placed my little seeds in “growing houses” I made from storage bins and put them on the porch of my free-standing office. There were a few nights when the temperatures fell drastically that I brought the growing boxes inside, but for the most part my seeds lived in their little houses outside on my porch.

As the weeks went by, I got a report from my friend that her seeds had sprouted. I was excited for her, but I couldn’t help but wonder why my seeds had not sprouted since we planted them the same day. Finally, much later, I was able to report that I saw green emerging from my little cups of dirt and excitement abounded again!

As the cool days and nights began to turn mild, I saw that my friend’s plants were thriving in their warm environment and outgrowing my plants by leaps and bounds. Again, I was glad for my friend, but I had to wonder why my little plants were struggling to grow tall and strong. I thought that perhaps my plants needed more room to grow, so I repotted them and placed them in a larger growing house. While my efforts seemed to help to a point, I still didn’t get the tall, thriving plants that my friend did.

One day I noticed my plants were getting a little discolored and I decided that, even though the threat of frost was not yet gone, my plants needed to go in the ground. So, I prepared my garden and planted my little plants in their happy little rows. I noticed that even though they were smaller than my friend’s plants, my plants had good, strong roots and looked like they should grow into healthy, high yielding stalks and vines.

Several weeks went by and my plants were doing well. The weather was finally starting to warm up, though it had been terribly dry ever since I put my plants in the ground.  I watered them faithfully each evening and went out each morning to make sure everyone had survived the still cool night. I even went so far as to talk to my plants and sing hymns to them so that they knew I was glad they were in my garden! Kindness is a beautiful thing, ya know!

Well, life being what life is … BUSY … my friend did not get to plant her garden when I did. In fact, several more weeks passed before my friend said that she absolutely had to get her (still tall and thriving) plants in the ground. Because such tasks are easier and more fun to do together, I went over and helped her prepare her garden. As we started planting though, we were shocked to find out that her tall, thriving plants had small, feeble roots. So feeble were the roots that they pulled right out of their potted soil. How could this be when the plants looked so good?

Not sure what to do, we decided to plant the now delicate plants in the ground and hope for the best. Sadly, the next day I got a text and disappointment ensued. The plants were no longer tall and green. In fact, most of the plants were dead. My friend and I discussed what might have happened, but only came up with seemingly logical conjectures. Was the soil packed too tight or not tight enough? Was it the wrong kind of soil? Perhaps the garden was too dry, or we watered too much? Or not enough?

Later that day, my friend messaged to say she had figured it out. She said she should have acclimated her plants to the outside weather before putting them in the ground. Her plants were not prepared for the new environment she put them in. We marveled at the discovery and quickly noted this life lesson:

***The perfect environment creates complacency***

You see, my friend’s plants didn’t have to do any work in order to grow. They had the perfect conditions, warmth, water and sunlight. They didn’t need anything or contend with any struggles. Yes, they appeared to thrive, but when faced with the challenge of a new environment, their weak roots couldn’t handle it, and they fell to destruction.

We might wish our lives were easier. We might long for the perfect environment, free from trials and struggles, but what would we really have if we actually got our wishes and longings? We would have weak roots that would let us fall to destruction in the face of new challenges.

Have you ever noticed that when things in your life are going well, you don’t make or take opportunities to talk to God like you do when you are struggling? What happens when a trial occurs? Is your first reaction to ask God for help? The truth of the matter is life on earth will never be perfect because sin is here. Still, God gives us advice through James when He says, “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.” (James 1:2-3). Trials test our faith and that brings us closer to God, which is where we need to be to get through each day of this glorious, yet difficult life.

In John 14:6, Jesus says, “I Am The Way, The Truth and The Life. No one comes to The Father except through me.” When Jesus is our environment, He will never just give us what we think we want, but He will give us exactly what we need to thrive. When God’s word is our soil, we will grow with an undeniable strength.

So, which plant are you? Are you the thriving plant with weak roots, or are you the slow-growing plant with strong roots? Is your environment causing you to be complacent, giving you everything you want and hindering your ability to face challenges? Or are you working for what you need, strengthening your resolve and making challenges something you and God manage together?

I don’t know about you, but in a world that wants to weaken me, I want to plant my roots deep in The Lord and, like the Psalmist, say, “I shall not be moved.”