4 WriteStuff

Last spring I planted several bushes. One seemed as though it had died in the summer heat and I said, “I’ll take another look in spring.” We have this joke around here: Cyndi, being from Southern California where there is not really a winter, has a tendency to look at dormant plants and pull them out because “they’re dead.” My response is usually, “it’s only dead If you make it dead… leave it!” Most (not all) of what appears dead rebounds and blooms in the spring.

We also had several older plants that were not blooming. They were too close and their roots were too crowded to allow them to obtain the necessary nutrients to bloom. We transplanted them a couple years ago. It usually takes a year to establish new roots, But most do establish new roots. When I took a plant science class at college, the professor shook his head when I told him Mikes method of moving my plants/roses was to wrap a chain around them and yank them out. Often this left part of the tap root which either became dead wood or became an invasive wild weed if watered– neither of which produced a sustainable plant. We had to go back and dig out that dead wood to prevent it from creating foundation problems for the new building project.  

One bush had a broken tap root when transplanted, I was sure it would die, but it did not. The transplanted roses went through an unproductive year, I pruned them way back and with sun, water and proper feeding, the following year they established roots to where they produced amazing blooms! Two years later, I was pruning back the abundant growth so they could continue to bloom.

Roots are crucial to a healthy plant and to producing fruit. Compacted roots can restrict oxygen – growth requires the ability to breathe. Overwatering causes root rot. Under water and they die. There is always a bit of a risk in transplanting, some plants are fragile and can’t handle it. But for the ones that are more vibrant, it lets us make the best use of the attributes of both the plant and the available space. The roses I transplanted were used to create a beautiful, fragrant quiet spot. It was so awesome to see the go from straggly to a beautiful focal point.

I have lost track of how many times I have moved. I have lived in roughly 30 different homes, six states, and multiple cities in most states. I remember my parents saying “you can’t go back – keep going forward…” one time when I was complaining about a move. They told me “it is never the same” and if you try to move back to recapture that childhood memory, you will find yourself forever treated like a child.  My roses have often been my visual of that lesson… bloom where  planted… prune in the beginning, establish those new roots, and bloom with all the fragrance and fullness of the gifts which God has given… I/we won’t bloom if looking back at what was… blooms are produced from deriving sustenance and producing frui,t which can only happen when partaking in what IS. I am rooted in Jesus not a place in the past or even a place here on earth. I am transplanted, rooted in Jesus. I love the strength, the peace, the nourishment and growth that comes from this healthy root.

Deeper Still
¹⁸ “Therefore hear the parable of the sower: ¹⁹ When anyone hears the word of the kingdom, and does not understand it, then the wicked onecomes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is he who received seed by the wayside. ²⁰ But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; ²¹ yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediatelyhe stumbles. ²² Now he who received seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful. ²³ But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.” Matthew 13

⁶ As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, ⁷ rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving. ⁸ Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. Colossians 2

¹⁶ “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star.” Revelation 22

⁶² But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” Luke 9

You have planted them, yes, they have taken root;
They grow, yes, they bear fruit.
You are near in their mouth
But far from their mind. Jeremiah 12

¹⁶ For if the firstfruit is holy, the lump is also holy; and if the root is holy, so are the branches. ¹⁷ And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree, ¹⁸ do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you.

¹⁹ You will say then, “Branches were broken off that I might be grafted in.” ²⁰ Well said. Because of unbelief they were broken off, and you stand by faith. Do not be haughty, but fear.

Romans 11