How deep are your ROOTS?

I love cooking and eating good food but there are a few things I dislike more than the smell of food in the house. That lingering smell of onion or curry is the worst! One way I ensure I minimise the smell of cooking food travelling to other parts of the house is by closing the kitchen door, opening the kitchen windows and turning on the extractor. I also make sure that the windows in the living room are open to help circulate fresh air in there and that the door leading towards the bedrooms remains closed at all costs. Even my children know this. Call me weird all you want but while I love a good chicken or lamb curry, I don’t want to smell it in the house the next day.

In this season of my life, with the many hats I wear and the different demands on my time, I have found that the best way to manage my kitchen is by bulk cooking. When the Holy Spirit initially gave me this idea I would do this task of meal planning and cooking ahead of time once a week, every Friday to be specific. Once baby number two came along and more things cluttered my plate, I realised that the ante had been amped and I needed to up my game too. I have been cooking bi-monthly ever since. I plan my menu for two weeks and cook the main part of the meal we will have for dinner each day. Once the day in question rolls around, I prepare my accompanying dishes such as rice, pasta, potatoes, roasted veggies or a salad and dinner is done. It has saved me so much time, energy, brain power and stress. The best part, which happened unintentionally, is that my house rarely has that lingering food smell. Aaah… On the day I cook, every other Thursday, I wear comfortable clothes and shoes, tie my hair up, wrap it in a headscarf and get to work. I usually cook and listen to sermons for at least five hours, sometimes six, but I have learned to love that time rather than dread it. I have learned to appreciate the wisdom and the strength to get that job done and ensure that my family is well-fed without me constantly standing over the stove. At the end of my work day in the kitchen, I smell. I smell of what I have been busy doing… food, and I hate it! I always make a beeline for the bathroom, running myself a hot bath so I can wash my body and my hair and even as I do, the kitchen odour follows me as I smell myself. My headscarf, which is supposed to protect my hair from that kitchen odour yet fails miserably every time, and my clothes make their way to the washing machine and once the kitchen has been cleaned, stove and oven scrubbed, and dishes washed and put away you would never know that I had been in there all day.

But since they don’t have deep roots, they don’t last long. They fall away as soon as they have problems or are persecuted for believing God’s word. ~ Mark 4:7 (NLT)

And now, just as you accepted Christ Jesus as your Lord, you must continue to follow him. Let your roots grow down into Him, and let your lives be built on Him. Then your faith will grow strong in the truth you were taught, and you will overflow with thankfulness. ~ Colossians 2:6-7 (NLT)

Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God’s love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. ~ Ephesians 3:16-18 (NLT)

We all have roots and so it is easy for us to be rooted in many different things. Much like the scent of all my clothes and even my hair would reveal that I had been cooking, rooted in the kitchen all day, what we are rooted in eventually shows up in our lives, revealing what we have deeply and firmly established ourselves in. We need to be rooted in Christ. As we get amped up this new year I want to encourage you to pay special attention to certain areas of your life. Inspecting the fruit in these areas will help you keep a pulse check on what you are rooted in. Our goal is to stay rooted in Christ and His love for us. You know I love me a good acronym so here goes. How deep are your ROOTS in the following areas?

How deep are your RELATIONSHIPS?

Relationships are a gift from God. Unfortunately, whether we are thriving or frustrated in them is up to us and those with whom we are in a relationship. When we examine the relationships that Jesus had during His time on the earth, we can see that He remained true to who He is in all relationships. Additionally, Jesus had authentically deep relationships. Do you? A sign that your roots run deep into Christ and His love are the fruit of thriving, rich and authentic relationships. These days it’s easy to stay at the surface level in your relationships. By keeping others at arm’s length, and using time with friends to gossip rather than talk about what is going on in our hearts and lives we can easily be fooled into thinking we have healthy relationships when really, we don’t. Social media allows us to look into the lives of others creating an illusion that we know them and they know us. To know and to be known deeply, and authentically is a sign that we have deeply and firmly established ourselves in Christ and His love for us and others.

How deep is your OBEDIENCE to God?

I have heard the African proverb that says familiarity breeds contempt and distance breeds respect. I am honestly not so sure that the proverb applies in every scenario or every human relationship but I know for a fact it doesn’t apply to our relationship with God. I have found in my own life that when I have been spending time with God and been in His Word consistently, obeying Him isn’t as difficult. When we are rooted firmly in Christ and His love, obedience to the Father will come a little easier. The more time we spend with God, and get to know His character and His love for us, the more we want to obey Him. When we are not rooted firmly in Christ the fruit of our life is disobedience, contempt, confusion and even rebellion.

How deep are your OPINIONS?

Opinions are like noses, we all have them. While we are all entitled to our opinions, if we take time to critically listen to the opinions of others, we will learn a lot about the state of their heart and whether or not they are grounded in Christ. I especially like to listen to the opinions of people during hot-button topics that tend to bring out the crazy in even the most put-together people. What are your opinions about hot-button topics? If Christ were in the room would His opinion match your own or those of whom you vehemently oppose? I believe that no one says things just to say them, our words spring up from a source where more of the same can be found. Our opinions can be traced back to where and what we are rooted in.

How deep is your TRUST?

I generally find it difficult to trust people. However, I have found that the more my trust in God grows, the more trusting of others I become. I am not sure what the correlation is but what I do know is that the more my trust in my Heavenly Father grows, the more I understand that people are just people. Whether they fail me or not, my God remains unchanging. The degree to which we trust God and those He has placed in our lives is a good indication as to whether we have tooted ourselves in Christ and His love for us. Take some time and do a trust inventory. What you find can help you adjust where necessary.

How deep is your SUBMISSION?

One of my mentors always says, “Submission isn’t submission until it feels like submission.” Submission isn’t just a word we associate with wives about their husbands you know. All who belong to the family of God are to function as submitted ones to their Lord and God. How well we sit in this not-do-nice posture towards God and others is a sure sign of where we are rooted. It is a little easier to live submitted to God, but there is something about that submission one to another that our rebellious nature always goes up against. How submitted are you to your husband, boss, lecturer, mentor, or parents? Submission can also be required among peers. God has placed wonderful friends in your life who know you and can call you out when they see you going astray. How submitted are you to them? Here’s a kicker, what about your submission to whom you deem “subordinate?” Your wife, your assistant, your children or your younger siblings? Correction, wisdom and insight can come from God through anyone, when you know on the inside that it is right, do you submit or does pride keep you from doing so?

How deep are your ROOTS? Without roots, we can be tossed by the wind and end up so far away from where we intended to be. Before you get busy with all the goals and all the things this new year, check what you have deeply and firmly established yourself in. You may not like what you find and that’s OK. Submit those areas to God. The Holy Spirit will help you realign those areas. Continue to cultivate the areas that are rooted in Christ and as you do, see the wonderful fruit that will come from there.