How to Deal with a Complicated Life

 
Union University Campus, Jackson, TN

“Rooted and built up in Him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, 

and overflowing with thankfulness.”  

Colossians 2:7

Has your life ever been so complicated that the morning alarm only jolts you awake to cause your brain a blur of confusion as to the date or current to-do list?  Or has the complication of a rigid schedule ever felt like a precarious Jenga tower ready to topple if one piece was slid out?

This past semester our schedule felt like a complex labyrinth of necessary activities and major life events.  There was the twins home school graduation.  Aidan was leaving for a mission trip to Uganda.  College orientations and preparations were looming, and normal life with a family of 6 was passing by.  During Spencer’s student orientation at Union University, I decided to prayer walk the campus that would soon be an integral part of his life.  Each step highlighted the tumultuous panic I felt as I prepared to release Spence into the next stage of life.

While meditating on the truth of being rooted and built up in Christ, I passed by a spectacularly intricate tree root system which stopped me short in my tracks. I wandered over to investigate the arrangement of interlocking roots weaving through and between one another and wondered, is this how I am being rooted in Christ? Is my foundation interlocking and weaving into a complex, strong system of roots in order to build me up in Him?

Then I remembered, having been the amateur gardener who had a face-off with some roots while trying to remove a “mature tree.” I soon realized the strength and endurance of each one of those tree roots was much greater than I had thought. I had to resort to a saw to separate them from tree! It was a long, difficult process to extricate that crepe myrtle from our garden, and at one point, I had to enlist a friend with a pick-up truck to pull it out! I was certain the tree was gone for good and my prideful gardening spirit smiled at the thought of the victory over the stubborn tree! But that didn’t last long.  The next spring slowly from its roots, crepe myrtle shoots grew up again.

Although the gardener in me was annoyed at the rogue crepe myrtle shoots, I take comfort in knowing that roots are not easily destroyed. Deep in the earth, a complicated system of roots kept the tree alive and vibrant to rise up again in the spring!  

That same type of complex root system would sustain me.  Amidst our complicated life with packed schedules and minutes flying by too quickly, those roots represented peace. Whether the branch that home schooled the boys or the one that devoted hours to graduating them was cut, there would be new shoots.  I just needed to trust my roots.

As I continued my prayer walk on the campus that day, I felt my roots strengthen. My life was not any less complicated, but my focus changed. I literally declare it out loud, “I am being rooted and built up in Him!” Meditating on His word calmed me.  It grounded me and filtered through the complicated emotions my mommy heart was facing as I contemplated letting go of the boys.

Is your Jenga tower about to topple?   Don’t obsess on teetering tower of events, activities, and emotions, change your focus to Christ. Remember your roots in Him.  

Don’t fret about to-do lists and schedules, meditate on the Truth of the Word.

Daily repeat the process of focusing on Christ, remembering your roots and meditating on the Word.  
And may you be strengthened in faith and overflowing with thankfulness!

Fingerprints of the Lord

Christine A. McCloy