“See to it that no one falls short of the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many.” Hebrews 12:15
It’s only been about 6 months since we had pavers put down around the pool area. I probably wouldn’t even have noticed the problem, had it not happened below the only door into the place. When the door caught on something, I bent down to investigate. Unfortunately, doing so brought me trouble.
Before we decided on pavers, Katie wanted to have a little more privacy on that side of the pool. So, she planted some ‘Ookie Bookie.’ That’s not the name of the stuff, but it’s what WE call it. And it is PROLIFIC..sending roots out and spreading like wildfire. Unchecked, it can grow 40’ tall!
I found the infracting paver and easily lifted it out. Under the paver, yet above the cement, lay 4 roots that had made their way under and through the pavers… lifting them just enough to stop entry through the door into our house. I know, I know.. NOT a third world problem! But still, something requiring work to repair.
It’s a fact! Roots can cause trouble and problems. ESPECIALLY when they are from a BAD source and make their way into my heart. No matter how old I get, bad roots CONTINUE to find a way into the door of my heart and mess me up. It takes careful monitoring and work to keep them from growing and pushing up. I don’t always see them until damage is done.
I’ve been told it’s from my heritage and that, being of Scottish descent, I have a natural inclination toward anger when things go wrong. The excuse sounds both noble and valid. But not to God. James 1:20 makes it clear that my anger does NOT bring about ‘the righteous life that God desires’ for me.BOTH verses make it clear that preventing or eradicating the bitter root of anger is MY job. And I’ve got some digging to do.
I wish I didn’t have this root and door problem. But wishing or ignoring is not going to fix a thing. They will neither fix the problem with the door to my pool…NOR the one to my heart.
So… what’s rootin’ around yours?
