This month, my team and I are working with a ministry in downtown Quito called COVI. COVI works with kids who, if they weren’t to come there, they’d be on the streets; they feed them, help them with homework, and give them the love they probably don’t receive at their own houses.
COVI has two little houses in the middle of Carolina Park (which is incredibly beautiful), with two gardens that grow plants they use to feed the children. One of these gardens looked miserable and in need of lots of love. One day, my teammate Megan & I were standing next to it and started talking about how we wanted to give it a makeover. Well, today we got to do just that. Here is a picture of my friends Shannon & Megan before we started the real demolition:
We dug all day long and tore almost everything in the picture up. When I sat down and started to dig up those tiny little weeds, I found this little weed with HUGE roots. I’m not talking huge as in thick, easy to find roots. These roots were small, fragile, and incredibly spread out, & they required a lot of time & stamina to dig up; this is when the garden started to teach me something.
You see, we all have roots. Whether they’re shallow or really deep, they’re there. Some are really easy to find and pull out, but others go way deeper than we could imagine. For me, I have a shallow root of bitterness: super easy to diagnose & dig out. But I have a deep root of anger. when I really look into my anger, I realize it’s just the little green leaves that pop out of the ground, but deeper down the cause of that anger is jealousy, and insecurity, and a lack of self-confidence. When I try to take just the anger out, I have to also dig under the surface to pull out the insecurity, and the lack of self-confidence, and the jealousy. It’s not easy, and sometimes it causes little scrapes and cuts, maybe even a blister or two. But you don’t want those things living in the garden of your heart; those are the things that will come in and wrap themselves around the good roots you have, and kill them.
The garden also taught me there are roots I want to have, but they need to be the deep roots that can’t be dug up easily. For me, that root is Jesus. I want to be so rooted in Him that when there are people who try to come in and tear that root up, it’s impossible. No matter what they say or do, there is nothing that could take away my trust in Him or my love for Him. At times, I feel like that root has shriveled up, or some people have come in and pulled a huge chunk out. But the truth is, that root will always be there; no matter the circumstance or season I walk through, there will always be that trust and love in my heart that no one could ever take away.
My encouragement and challenge for you is to look into your heart and evaluate the roots you’ve allowed to grow deep; or the shallow ones that have the possibility to become really deep.
Y’all, I am FULLY FUNDED!! Thank you so much to everyone who donated, prayed, and supported me in other ways. I’m so excited I get to share this with you!!
Also, if you ever have questions, concerns, or funny jokes you want to share with me, please feel free to email, facebook message, or comment below me! I seriously want to hear from you, no matter what it is. all my love!!
