Advent Word - December 9 - #root - “I’ve got no roots, but my home was never on the ground.”

The "Advent Word" practice is a daily meditation on a given word and an opportunity to share that reflection on social media with others who are keeping this practice. It's akin to an Advent calendar, but with many boxes to open on a given day. Sometimes the reflections are sincere, and sometimes they're a little silly, but at the end of the day, it's a practice set aside to help us observe the season of Advent in the midst of the world's busyness. With all of that in mind, this is going to be my attempt to observe the Advent Word practice. I wish I could promise a reflection every day, and we'll see where this goes together.

I struggled with “worthy” yesterday, but I saw a lot of great ones coming from the #adventword tag on Instagram. One that really stood out to me was the picture of a friend from seminary with the caption, “I am worthy just as I am.” For many of us, it’s hard to come to place and that realization, even when we’ve attained what society would call success. It’s a bummer, but sometimes that just how we are.

Tonight, though, when I was out with the dog, I looked up, and I saw a tree that had (finally) dropped all of its leaves. I love seeing the barren trees this time of year, and I especially like seeing a barren oak in the middle of a field. I can’t pinpoint why, but I think it’s because when we see a barren tree, with all of the branches exposed, it’s as close as we’re going to get to seeing what that tree’s root structure looks like. I know that sounds silly, and it’s not terribly profound, but it works for me.

And I think about it because, as we all know, the roots of a tree grow towards nutrients: good soil, water, anything else that tree will need. When we see the branches of the tree, we see that tree reaching up for all that it can get to. More sun, more air, more rain as it falls. As the seasons change, the tree changes, too. The branches may reach in different directions (like the ones about to grow into our house), and the roots certainly grow as the tree tries to reach it’s greatest height.

Again, nothing profound here. Just a brief mediation on the beauty of a tree. Take a look at one of the barren trees around town. It’s simply really cool to see. And then, notice it as it changes over the next few months, too. And then, think of you may have been changed in that same time.