One thing I am learning on the Race is that Jesus does a lot of his meaningful talking to me in just a few places. True I can talk to Him anytime and anywhere, but there are honestly only a few places where my spirit is quiet enough to hear Him talk back. Manual labor involving nature is one of those quiet places for me.
Today was one of those days.
We finally made it out to the village on Friday. For our week here, part of our ministry is helping clear a piece of land our contact recently acquired that will eventually be used for a training center for women coming out of the sex industry in Thailand. The other part of ministry is coating this place with prayer, worship, and intercession. Last night’s prayer and worship lasted for two hours and during that time we asked God to begin to open our eyes to the lessons He needs to teach us.
In case you were unaware, God answers our prayers, and sometimes he does not take a long time to do so.
Today as we were clearing the field on the new property, God decided to speak to me. We had all found our groove for the morning and while we were working close to each other, a sort of calm silence had fallen over us. My job today was taking the hoe and hacking away at the stubborn roots and vines that covered the ground after the {controlled} fire wiped out the rest of the unwanted debris. I was hacking away at a particularly stubborn root when I hear His voice:
It is hard work removing the roots that take a deep hold in your life
You see, one of the things God has been leading me in is the discovery of the root of my issues. Clearing just the surface problems is only temporary just like the field I was clearing. The fire removed the dead brush and trees, but eventually they will grow back. However, if I could successfully remove the roots they would never grow again.
This is what you need to let me do in your life. Let me past the surface into the areas where your roots are buried so deep you don’t even remember what they look like.
So as I am hacking away at this root, I am getting nowhere fast. I am making dents and at points it seems that it may finally give way but then just stays stuck in the ground. I let out a cry of distress; “Why won’t you just come out of the ground!?” My teammate, Sara, comes over to me with a machete and asks if I want to use that. I quickly refuse, determined to get the root out my own way. After explaining to Sara what God is showing me, she responds with “what if God is providing the right tool to get the job done and you are still insisting on doing it your own way?” Grrrr. Of course she was right, so I moved out of the way and accepted her help. Seconds later the whole root lay on the ground leaving a hole where it once was.
What are you going to do with your holes once you let me pull up your roots? You can try to fill them and never get it quite right or you can let me fill them to ensure a solid foundation ready for new growth. It is your choice.
I decide I need a break from my job and turn around to watch my other teammate, Bug, learn her lesson from God for the day. When she was finished, I went back to work on my roots. In an attempt to have a slightly less serious conversation with God I try to make a joke.
Me: I bet your hands don’t hurt when you are pulling up roots
Ouch. Lesson learned: pulling up roots, whether in the physical or the spiritual, is hard work. It is going to take time and it is going to be painful. But as with most things in God’s plan, the end result is always worth it.
