Uprooted.

(This is Part 2 of our devotional series “Press – The Musical”.)

Good morning, peeps!

“I wanna be unmovable and unshakable so let my roots go down deep. Unmovable and unshakable in You.” – from “Tree” by Justin Rizzo

“And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.” – Psalm 1:3

I joined church when I was 4 and have been jacked up ever since.

I know that first sentence ’bout made you choke on your coffee. Man. Coffee. I miss it. That sentence was the first thing I keyed yesterday morning as I was typing what was to be the first part of this new devotional series. As you can see, I eventually posted something else. That first post was a grand way to start this series and I know it was unexpected. I love it when God does unexpected things. I expect Him to, now. Don’t get it twisted: I totally mean that first sentence. I wasn’t trying to shock you awake this morning. “I joined church when I was 4 and I have been jacked up ever since.”

Ever since.

The image that God brought to mind was the tree that sits in my front yard. I have no idea what type of tree it is and at 4 in the morning, I could care less what type of tree it is so don’t ask me. And I am not googling it when I get done with this post. From the street, it looks like a magnificent beast. Especially now: the top of it is so leafy and green and I can hear the birdies who’ve built nests among its branches chirping as I drink what is not coffee. Such a strong-looking tree. It is massive. The roots of it stretch out over almost half of my front yard.

It is dead.

About seven years ago, we had someone come out and look at it. This was someone who could tell what type of tree it was at first glance – he didn’t need Google. That man acted like he was the spokesperson for Arbor Day (SFAD). Good grief. I just asked him about my tree and he told me about every tree in the neighborhood. “And that’s a____ and that one is a ____ and you see that one over there? It’s a ____.” Dude. I promise you, I don’t care. I know he told me what mine was, but I don’t remember what he said. I didn’t file that bit of information into my mental Rolodex. It was just a tree. And I wanted it gone. So, let me tell you how petty I was with this tree. I didn’t want it gone because it was too close to the house and I was concerned about it falling over during a bad storm and tearing up my stuff. No. I was sick of raking leaves and its little feathered residents kept pooping on everything, including people. Petty. So after SFAD told me what kind of tree I had, he said, “It will cost you $$$$ to remove this tree from your yard.” The devil is a whole funky lie! “You could spend the money and it will be an all-day process, but you need to know something: it is dead. Well, technically halfway dead. The roots are dead.”

But it has green leaves on it…

Ignore my finger in the corner, but did you notice the bare branches? There are three huge sections of ‘em. I bet you wouldn’t have noticed them had I not pointed them out with my beautifully-drawn yellow circle. Most people see the greenery and think “IT’S ALIVE!!” It’s really not. The roots have already kicked the bucket and the evidence is being shown in the dead branches. And instead of uprooting it, I have let it die slowly. For seven years. And it is starting to affect my entire yard.

I joined church when I was 4 and have been jacked up ever since.

When I talked with my friends about this devotional series and what I am presently discovering about myself, they have been quick to give me the pep talk of the century. They are having none of what they think is me selling myself short. “You are great just as you are, Deone! There is nothing wrong with you! Look at all you do for the Kingdom! There’s ____ and there’s that____. And you see that over there?” I appreciate it, I do, but know that it is okay. Now more than ever, I am aware of my present state: you may see leaves that have not withered and fruit coming forth in season, but that’s not what God is working on. That stuff is fine – it’s the patches of dead stuff that He’s concerned about.

I have three.

In order for this pressing to be effective, God had to first get to the root of my sitch, which happens to be my core – what I have wrapped the roots of my life around. That’s what is slowing killing me. I was like, “Hold up. When I started going to church, I was deeply and madly in love with You. I completely trusted You. The rock I wrapped my roots around was You.”
“At first. Something else has taken My place.”

[We will continue this tomorrow. Have a great day.]

–d.