One of our tasks while living in Bulgaria was to prepare the ground for a sidewalk around the house. Easy, right? Yes. Until we encountered remnants of a bush.
I thought the hard parts would be lifting and carrying away the sidewalk tiles that had been there for years. Yes, it was hard work. But not compared to that stubborn root system we ran into. And while I stood there staring the thing down, a thought came to me.
This is how it is in my life. I encounter hard things every day. Like trying my best to be courteous and pleasant when I’m really just fed up with so many people in the same room and no place to hide. Or the task of trying to decide which of two shirts I should wear with the same skirt I’ve worn for a week. More seriously, praying for a city that feels so sad and somber takes a lot of effort and is pretty hard.
But the big ‘root’ is still deep underneath and sometimes it’s hard to get to or even recognize that there’s a problem in the first place. The root needs to be completely removed in order for progress to be made on the sidewalk, and in our lives. Whatever the root is, and however deeply it’s rooted, it has to come out before the ‘hard’ things get easier.
And only God can really do that. He’ll get His tools out and whack away at it. It might not be pleasant; it might be painful; but it will be worth it!
