Roots.
[noun] The basic cause, source, or origin of something.
Every year I pray through a word that I want to focus on to define my year. A family I dearly love has done this for years and as soon as I saw this idea, I ran heart first into the concept. Last year my word was purpose. Reflecting back on 2018, it's a word I would say fit so perfectly with my year. I went into the year thinking I knew exactly what I wanted my days to look like; where I wanted to be the day I graduated school, what I wanted to be doing, and how I wanted my marriage to be lived out. I took my imagination and in my mind made it a reality.
The problem with me creating my own reality, though, is I left no room for anything to change that.
Over the course of the last 12 months, I learned that purpose does not relate to a job. Purpose does not relate to how much money I bring home at the end of a long week or where I call home. Purpose does not mean I get to pick what my day looks like or what I deem worthy enough to invest my time or energy into.
Instead, purpose simply asked the question of how am I living for Heaven here on earth. What am I doing each morning I wake up to look heavenward and make this world a better place with Jesus in mind. My time here is so unbelievably short, even as the days seem extremely long - so, where I live and what I do is not based on my dreams or plans or goals for my life, but God's.
That was a hard lesson to learn, but a necessary one.
Transitioning into 2019, one five letter word summed up a combination of words my mother has continually whispered in my ear that finally settled recently. "Just because you have roots doesn't mean you can't have wings."
Roots.
I always viewed this word as just something at the base of the tree, digging into the ground to hold itself steady. Deep, unwavering, immovable roots. Immobile, stuck.
Yet, it's more than that. It's a source, a beginning. Where you dig your roots determine where you go from there. If you dig into where your job is or the location of your home, you won't go very far. If you dig into your purpose, no matter where your roots are, your wings can take you anywhere.
For 2019, my roots are digging deeper into who Jesus is and what He has for me, meaning I have no idea where my wings will take me. I am, however, excited to find out.
