Rooted 

Today’s Scripture: Colossians 2:6 

Last October, Hurricane Michael smashed into the Florida coast and roared into southwest Georgia, still packing winds of over 100 mph as it came into our area. The damage was indescribable. Trees were knocked over in tangled messes everywhere you turned. 

I have a small pecan orchard in my backyard. Believe it or not, I only lost two trees in that storm. Why did those trees fall while the others survived? They had shallow roots. 

The two trees I lost were on the corner of my lot, closest to my neighbor’s pond. Because of their proximity to water, their roots were shallow, and the trees could not withstand the wind. But my other trees were farther away from this water system, and their roots dug deeper in the ground to find water.  

Those very roots saved those trees, and to this day, the rest of my orchard is producing nuts. 

In Colossians 2:6, we are told that the key to thanksgiving is to have deep roots in Christ. Paul wrote, “Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.” 

Dig your roots deep into Christ, and you will never lack something for which to be thankful. 

Today’s prayer: Father, teach me to love you more each day and to cultivate a deep, thriving relationship with you that is rooted in Christ.