I was doing some long overdue editing this afternoon and I came across this shot of the roots. As I was looking at it. I started thinking about the things in our lives that become roots. The bible is full of instructions about the ways to avoid having things that shouldn't be there take root in our lives.

Sometimes it's so hard to do what we know we should and before we know it, what was a small issue becomes a huge problem. In the photo, you can see that on the roots of the tree, there are all sorts of things growing. They are growing on the roots of the tree, tangling across the roots themselves and getting all twisted up until in some parts you can't see what is the original root and what is extra. When we allow things to get out of control in our lives that's exactly what happens.

I know in my life something that I struggle with is Resentment. Service is definitely an area I am strong in. If I am serving with the right heart, for the right reasons, because I know where God wants me, I will serve until I am asleep on my feet. I feel happy there and called in that place. If I am overtired and not balancing my own life well, it doesn't take long for resentment to creep in, primarily if I am serving people I love, and they don't seem to notice.

If I take control of that attitude of resentment, it doesn't take very long at all before it becomes a nasty root in my life and a great big chip on my shoulder. Before long, I am angry, bitter, and stomping around my house like Godzilla demanding the respect I should be getting and expecting everyone to bow at my feet for serving them. That may be slightly exaggerated, but you get the point. The problem is not necessarily the people in my life, but it is that I didn't do the things I need to do to make sure that My heart stays healthy, and my service is out of a place of love. If I don't balance my life and protect my heart, no one else is going to do that for me.

I often wonder why I don't just do what I know is better for me. Why don't I deal with the issue when it happens, sort out that thing with that person, or apologise when I'm in the wrong? Why don't I stay in a routine, keep having devotions, do the things that are good for my heart? It's certainly much easier in the long run than dealing with the mess I make when I allow the wrong things to take root in my life. I think that Romans 7:15 in the NIV sums it up "I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do, I do not do, but what I hate I do."

I don't necessarily know the answer to the questions I pose to myself, aside from I am human and unfortunately not perfect. I would like to be; it would avoid a whole heap of drama I cause myself. But I do know this; if there are things you are not dealing with in your life, they don't get smaller or stay the same size; they grow and take root, and as they grow, they twist. When the roots grow, other things grow from the original root, and before you know it, you have a huge mess, and you have no clue quite how it happened.

Talk to someone today about the things you need to. If you have an issue with a friend, try to sort it out. If you have a problem in an area that you know is affecting your life negatively, don't let it grow for another day without sorting it out. Take some steps to talk to someone who can help, a Counsellor, Leader, or Pastor. We were meant to live a life that produces quality fruit, and that can only happen if we deal with the stuff in our lives that we have allowed to grow unchecked.