This Column Will Save Your Life
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Let’s talk…Spring brings Strong Roots in Quiet Places
Each day we draw nearer to Spring. It’s getting close to planting time. As a reminder, strong roots grow in quiet places.
When we admire a strong tree, we usually notice its height, its branches, or the way it spreads shade on a hot afternoon. What we rarely think about is the unseen work happening below the surface. A tree’s strength does not begin with what we see. It begins underground.
Roots grow quietly. They push through soil, wind around rocks, and stretch in search of water and stability. No one applauds this work, yet without it the tree would never survive a storm.
Human lives are not so different.
Many of us spend great energy trying to improve what others can see — accomplishments, recognition, appearance, success. Yet the most important growth often happens privately, in the quiet places of reflection where we face truth about ourselves.
Strong roots in a person’s life come from honesty. Honesty about our fears, our hopes, and the ways we sometimes avoid difficult realities. When we take time to acknowledge what is true, even when it is uncomfortable, we begin to build stability that cannot easily be shaken.
Psychologists often note that emotional resilience comes from self-awareness — the willingness to understand what is happening within us rather than denying it. When we learn to do this, we develop the ability to respond thoughtfully instead of reacting impulsively.
Faith traditions have long understood this principle. In the Bible, the prophet Jeremiah describes a person who trusts in God as “a tree planted by water, sending out its roots by the stream.” That person, he writes, does not fear when heat comes, because the roots are deep.
In our modern world, storms arrive in many forms — stress, disappointment, loss, or uncertainty about the future. None of us are immune. But those who spend time cultivating strong inner roots often find they are able to stand when life becomes difficult.
Roots grow slowly. They require patience and attention. Yet the effort is never wasted.
Perhaps the most important question we can ask ourselves is not “How do I look to others?” but rather, “What is growing beneath the surface of my life?”
Choose to nourish your body with the healthiest food. Feed your soul daily with God’s Word. Let the Spirit bring you closer to God. Check your emotions. Use all of your talents to assist others when you can. Plant seeds of kindness, forgiveness and peace. Dig deeper. Love fuller. Be all that you can.
Because the truth is simple: When roots are strong, the whole tree can flourish.