Deep Roots

Good afternoon sisters and brothers; 

It rained throughout the night, and the sound of raindrops on the roof was nothing short of divine, a celestial lullaby guaranteed to cure a restless sleep. And the fresh breeze that came in through the window carried with it the songs of tree frogs and toads reveling the night away at Bear Creek. 

The hard rain had come to an end at dawn. It was still raining, but it was more like a fine mist that seemed magically suspended in mid-air. With every passing day, the grass gets greener and longer, the dandelions multiply exponentially, and the tree branches strain at the weight of the ever growing canopy that will provide shade on hot summer days. It is a wonderful time of year, full of promise and rebirth. And as Nina and I headed out for our early morning run, we felt elated and blessed. 

I took this picture after our run. As is often the case, I let the Holy Spirit choose the subject of my snapshots. These three trees stand on the other side of the wild meadow. We planted them long ago. They are fruit trees. Two apple and one pair. As you can see, they are stunning They flower at the same time, and they perfume the air in the gentle breeze. When the flower petals fall, it is as though it were snowing. These three trees have put down deep roots, and they will be here for a very long time. 

This got me thinking about the things we as disciples do to put down deep roots. We are not stationary like trees, but we nonetheless put down roots everywhere we go. A tree will not survive if the root system is not healthy. We will not survive if our roots are unhealthy. Hate, envy, greed, pettiness, misogyny are just a few of the things from the human condition which can render us rootless. But when we choose love, inclusion, respect, compassion, joy, we are more apt to be better grounded. 

And there is no better way to plant deep roots than to embrace the words of scripture. In the gospel of John 15: 12, Jesus tells his disciples...

"This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you." 

It is that simple, my friends. 

May you plant deep and healthy roots and celebrate the joy of a new day. 

Let us pray.

I am sharing this lovely prayer written by Noelle Kirchner 

"Lord, help me to cultivate my
roots in you. Gift my foundation 
with wisdom and my fruit with 
abundance. Guide me so that I 
bend, not fall, when the winds of
life blow -- for many are the
benefits of life with you! "

What are the things that keep you firmly grounded? 

May you have a wonderful and lovely day

Diosito me los bendiga 

Paz 

I love you 

John