Stubborn Bushes and a Pang of Jealousy

Today is my day off. My wife asked me to help her around the yard. She wanted to transplant two bushes we had planted last year. I thought I could make quick work of it. I started to dig and 90 minutes later I was dragging the second bush to the new location. It was exhausting. I found it amazing how deep the roots had grown in a year. Roots are of course the key to how hard the plants were to dig up. This past year those plants have gone through some serous weather. They went through the bone chilling winter, a rain soaked Spring, and some serious summer storms. But throughout the year my two bushes have gotten what they really needed to grow. They received plenty of water and the nutrients in the soil were evidently exactly what the doctor ordered. Whatever was going on outside these bushes were all about sinking their roots as deep as they could. As sweat literally streamed off my body I was thinking about my own growth this past year. So many times I get side-tracked by what is going on all around me. I quit thinking about my roots. Like my bushes I think I have gone through some serious weather. Some of you have too no doubt. But I have also had everything I need to sink my roots deeper into God. As we close out summer I want to concentrate on growth. I want us all to ask God to help our roots to grow in such a way that a year from now we will be what Paul the Apostle called "steadfast and immovable." Because in all honesty, after only a year my bushes were very nearly steadfast and immovable. They made me jealous.