In the Midst of Suffering

Suffering can either close you up or take you deeper in to healing and freedom.  Suffering is just another set of stormy waves as you're walking out upon the waters.  But we must remember that these waves and this ocean bow at His holy name.

Calm waters don't require trust.  They might be calm when we first step out, but then we get the hang of it and almost feel like we can do it in our own strength.

As you get farther from the boat, and as the storms begin, then you must trust more and deeper.  Running back to the boat is putting your trust in fear.  Otherwise, there's nowhere else to go except straight to Jesus.  Yet the closer we get to Him the more free we become.  We get further away from the safety of our boat (which will eventually fail) and closer to the safety of His presence which NEVER fails.  The more we see and trust that the safety of His presence never fails, we give more and more of ourself to Him in full surrender.  It is then we become fully alive.

Plant Life

Change is not easy.  Leaving the familiar for the unknown is scary, and turns out kind of painful -- even when it's good change.  It seems similar to when a plant is uprooted in order to be transplanted.  A plant grows in a pot, establishes it's roots, gains some strength, weathers a few storms, and with the right amount of care, will reach it's capacity within the pot.  There comes a point when the roots reach the bottom and can no longer grow - even if it keeps receiving food, water, and sunshine.  If the plant is to grow bigger and bear more fruit, then it must be transplanted to a new place, whether a bigger pot or the ground, so it's roots can go deeper, spread further, and get even stronger.

The plant knows that the actual source of nourishment does not come from the pot or soil itself.  Food, water, and sunshine are all outside sources that the gardener has to ensure makes it to the plant and soil.  The pot determines the capacity, with it's purpose to keep it all together, hold it all in securely, and not let anything out.  With the plant growing too big, however, the security of the pot now becomes a limitation.  The soil is the substance that supports the plant and holds the nutrients within the pot, and wants nothing more than for the plant to grow and grow.  But with the plant reaching it's full potential in the pot, the soil knows it can now only maintain the plant without aiding in growth.

But the transplanting process, although good, shocks the plant because it's being taken out of the soil it's been so familiar with, and well, became comfortable in.  And not to say that the storms it weathered were easy... not by any means.  But the plant became familiar with how to endure the storms within it's familiar soil... the soil that has held the nourishment for health.

The plant knows it must be uprooted for a new place... but... but... transition...

When the plant is uprooted all of it goes away for a bit... the security of the pot, the warmth of the soil.  What will happen now?  Where will I be replanted? A bigger pot?  The ground? How big is the capacity of where I will go?  Where is the soil that will support me?  Hold me up?  Hold the nutrients that I need for growth?  What will the soil be like?  Will it be hard for my roots to make their home in it?  What if a storm comes before I am replanted?  How long until I am replanted?    

How will I grow in the meantime - with my roots exposed?

Wait.  I didn't uproot myself.  I'm not transplanting myself.  I am not the Gardener... the Master Gardener.  He has a plan, and I am right in the middle of it.  This is His garden.  A Beautiful garden.

My roots are weary in this exposure.  BUT I am in the Gardener's hands.  I will rest.