• Soft and light touches lift our spirits • A child’s love is downy soft • What you choose to be, to do, to think is a daily diet • Your daily diet displays as a rainbow of colors for all to see. • Exercise your spiritual muscles to warm others and withstand enemies • There are times when we all just want to fly away • Shedding the old opens room for the new • Holding things together is often a challenge • Changing our wayward directions is like refracted light upon shiny feathers • A strong center stands against much bending and whipping in storms • We cover and insulate ourselves from outside pressures • Extend a hand to lighten each other’s load • We are covered by our Maker’s wings
From “Reflections from the Everyday” Charlotte-Anne Allen
• Consider wisely what you lean on • A strong base lends support for the work at hand • There are times to step back to relieve pressure • Relieving pressure allows room for healing and rest • It’s good to have something handy to whack with when needed • Whack away those doubts and fears • Making good choices requires forethought and regular practice • When temptation comes, keep a firm grasp on positive values • Choose the right material to build character and integrity • It is good to unload our worries to a listening ear • Whether climbing peaks or walking across the room, a supportive friend is welcome • Taking the weight off our shoulders brings great relief • Shepherds both guide and protect with their staff • God our Shepherd walks with us and shines through our weakness
Charlotte-Anne Allen
Psalm 23:4 – Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
I love gardening… flowers, herbs, vegetables, fruits, shrubs. I love plants and digging around in the soil, weeding, planting, and tending. Getting my hands and bare feet into the earth and listening to the sounds of nature is a happy place for me. Good soil. Plant food or fertilizer. Regular watering. Sunshine. All of these in needed amounts. Added to healthy plants with good roots.
This makes me think about the amazing roots! They draw nourishment up into the plant, which in turn provides what the plant needs to grow and flourish. Roots hold the plant securely, supporting it. Strong and deep roots hold firmly. Have you ever tried to pull up an unwanted or unneeded plant that had long, deep roots? It can be quite a job to get up! Shallow roots do not hold securely and are easily pulled up.
Just like those plants with strong and deep roots, God is our source and through Him we can hold firmly. In Paul’s letter to the Colossians, he encouraged them to continue their lives in Christ, “rooted and built up in him and established in the faith.”* Our roots are our connections with God. It is from Him that we draw our nourishment. He sets us strongly in a place where we can flourish and grow.
Have you ever found that you have set your roots into unhealthy places or situations? Instead of drawing positive and nourishing things for our lives, we find ourselves withering and unable to thrive. I’m thankful that through God, we can leave those places, and that He can transplant us when we call on Him for help.
I ask myself, “Am I caring for my roots? … What am I doing to help strengthen or establish the roots of those around me?” Maybe you have asked yourself similar questions too.
May we take positive steps to look at ourselves and our connections to others, not neglecting our root care. Reach down deeply and draw on God our source so that we can grow and better care for and support each other. Through Him we can stand firmly.
The Still Small Voice 