This summer, Jay and I relocated to the farm from July to November. Our house had to be gutted. Water had been sitting under our house, not draining. Because of the drainage issues, we had lots of problems. Our floor was warped, the joists were rotten, and even our duck work was wet and molded. It was a mess and a lot of work. Everything had to be moved out. At one point, when you walked into our home, there was nothing but walls. When you looked down, all you could see was dirt.
Lately, I have learned much about roots and how we can relate to the roots of a plant. Roots are the heart of the plant. Roots of some trees intertwine, holding each other up. And how roots must drain.
When thinking back to my home, our problem was drainage. Because we had a drainage issue, the water sat and did so much damage to our home—the same with roots. Roots must drain; if not, they will have drainage issues. For example, have you ever had a plant in a pot without drainage holes in the bottom? What happens to the plant?
The plant doesn’t thrive and usually dies because there is no drainage. When there isn’t drainage, you have root rot. The roots have just sat there in the water, it will begin to smell, and the roots will deteriorate because of the water.
We are the same way. Our roots must drain. All the evil thoughts, bad things, and foul odors will begin to show when we aren’t drained.
In the book “The Well-Watered Woman,” the author gives much wisdom. This is what she says about our drainage system.
When your identity roots rot, your life will begin to reflect what is happening to the roots. It may be subtle initially, but you can’t produce good fruit without good roots. God doesn’t just care about the fruit of our lives. He first tends to our roots. To survive and thrive, our souls need proper drainage systems. Page 41-42 Well-Watered Woman
In her book, Gretchen states that we must become thought sifters. Isn’t that creative. Thought sifters reminded me of my grandmother. She would always say the recipe’s result is best if you sift the dry ingredients. So true. If we want to produce good fruit, we must filter out; we must have a sound drainage system to get rid of what holds us back.
Every day our mind thinks, but not all that thinking is good. One of my friends always called this “stinking thinking.”. If you don’t drain your roots, you are left with rotten roots which are stinkin.
John 8:32
NIV 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
So, where is the truth? How do we learn the truth? How do we not let our roots rot? How do we get rid of stinking thinking? Just as stated in John 8:32, know the truth.
Where is the truth located? Within the pages of the bible. When we know and learn Christ’s truth, we will be able to recognize that which is not valid. That which will rot our roots, and we can sift it out so that we will grow and produce good fruit.
As Gretchen also says, “We must fight off root rot and to do that – we must be able to distinguish a rotten root from a healthy one and to do that- we must know God’s truth.
The garden of our soul is always in constant need of care. Every day we must dig up the rotten roots and replace them with the roots of God’s truth.
CHALLENGES OF THE WEEK
• Keep your daily appointment
• Dive deep into His truth
• Look at your roots, the heart of your soul, and see if any are rotten and have root rot
• Fill your cup with Christ
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