Check Your “Roots”
By: Maxine M.

Spring!! It’s just around the corner, pages on the calendar will show
Dormant seeds & perennial bulbs soon will awaken and start to grow
They’ve been “sleeping” under winter’s ice & cold snow

Awaiting the time to be reborn by the sun’s warm penetrating rays
Rejoicing in being resurrected from their inactive phase
Now one of the FIRST will be a dandelion…its yellow head will raise

In early spring, they are every child’s joyful energetic delight
To pick them by the handful…a proud gift for their mother’s sight
But in REALITY, they are an obnoxious common weed all gardeners have to fight

Fight with constant battle since an immaculate unblemished lawn is their goal
They exert hard work and vigilance to keep perfection under control
Then seemingly without effort, OVERNIGHT the dandelion takes its toll

Their brilliant beauty is short lived, turning white as they reproduce
Hidden from view…underneath lies their real strength, we can deduce
It’s their long, strong, unyielding “ROOT” that thrives long after the flower is refuse

Even a tiny bit left in the ground will come back to life another day
For a dandelion’s root must be totally ELIMINATED to forever go away
You must destroy its source of support & nourishment…don’t delay

One definition of “root”…that from which origin is derived, where life, growth and vigor are set
So in our lives we also put down roots… “things” we haven’t EXCAVATED yet
Many are the underlying causes of the problems & troubles over which we worry and fret

From infancy, stubborn roots begin to grow and come to light
Early small roots of “self” are shown…for their own way they’ll fight
Skeptical?! Try putting a toddler to bed EARLY tonight

And as we grow, bad roots can STRENGTHEN…grow wherever they dare
Roots of anger, envy, self indulgence, hatred, prejudice…a person’s life can share
Now Jesus WARNED of the strong “Root of Bitterness”...beware!!

Like the stubborn dandelion root, removing IT takes persistence
Our spirit rebels, the voice of memory recalls some particular instance
When we were “wronged”, so this root removal requires assistance

A mixture of love, gratitude, thankfulness and forgiveness applied everyday
And those bad roots will have to eventually just dry up and go away
Then the good roots can grow & expand…the roots we WANT to stay

Roots of truth and honesty, nourished by God’s Word available to all
DEEP roots of Faith can grow from tiny seeds, no matter how small
Trust, patience, loyalty, love for mankind…into our very being they’ll install

Now good strong roots need nutritious soil to survive once sprouting has begun
Roots grow downward but bear fruit upward…the way God designed it to be done
And HE says WE need to be ROOTED & grounded in Christ Jesus His Son

Draw our strength from His holy, pure, inexhaustible resource
The ONE who put ALL the laws of nature into force
Taught HOW to establish GOOD ROOTS in His Olivet Discourse

We persevere in our attack on that dandelion root when it shows its pretty but deceiving head
Somehow though, the mere thought of “plucking” those PERSONAL bad roots fills us with dread
But it’s very much NEEDED so God Roots can grow instead

So be persistent in eliminating the “bad roots”…get every little piece
Be diligent in cultivating those GOOD roots…the SON’s power release
May our continual growing in His love and grace NEVER cease!