Uprooted

The LORD your God is with you, he is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love,
he will rejoice over you with singing." Zephaniah 3:17

The gladiolus plants stood tall and proud in my neighbors’ garden just waiting to burst forth into bloom with their beautiful pink, purple, red, white and orange flowers. But my neighbor decided she was tired of her gladiolus garden so she uprooted them - flowers, stems, bulbs and all.

Tossed into a pile, they were destined to be thrown away.

As any good neighbor would do, I walked over to see what was going on and arrived just in the nick of time. I gathered an armful of the long, green stems with the bulbs still attached and rescued those plants.

Preparing a new home for those orphaned gladiolus plants; I dug little round holes into the rich soil of my flower garden and dropped the bulbs in. As I worked transplanting those brown, onion-looking bulbs, I suddenly realized they were actually, well...ugly. Had I not known the potential inside those bulbs, I certainly wouldn't have put forth the effort to transplant them. But I knew inside the bulb, which at this time appeared to be all dried-up, lived everything needed to once again grow strong, tall stems and produce beautiful flowers. The bulbs just needed someone who cared to replant them in just the right soil.

Sometimes we, too, may be uprooted. Major moves, divorce and loss of loved ones can all leave us feeling uprooted in life. We may feel that we’ve been tossed into a pile and thrown away by those we love and maybe, even by God. We may even feel that our heart has withered down to just an ugly, brown bulb.

But just like that gladiolus bulb, inside we still have everything we need to grow back strong and tall. We just need someone who cares. That Someone is the Lord our God. When we cry out to the Lord, He hears our prayers and sees our tears and will heal our broken hearts.

Just as the flowers from those transplanted gladiolus plants bring beauty and joy to others, the Lord can use us to do the same. Because we’ve been there and survived being “uprooted,” we can reach out and minister to others. And with our mended hearts planted in His love, we’ll survive any uprooting life may bring our way.

• Have you ever been uprooted in life?
• Have you ever felt like you were thrown away by those you love?
• Have you ever felt abandoned by God?

Even when we’re uprooted in life, the Lord our God is always with us. He will quiet us with his love when we cry out to him.

Father, thank you that we are eternally secure in You and that You will never let us go.

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