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I took the dead-looking browned seedling out of its pot. It’s a shame I couldn’t save the poor thing, I thought. I’ll toss the soil back into the garden.

As I lifted the four-inch seedling, I noticed something spiraling around in the pot. I tugged on what looked like a rope and, unraveling it, discovered it was the root.

“My, my,” I said as I stretched it out. “Look at this thing,” I exclaimed to my husband. “Come measure it.”

Inside the three-inch pot attached to a four-inch seedling was four and a half feet of root. This didn’t even seem possible.

Immediately, I recalled the Scripture warning us not to let a root of bitterness spring up in our hearts. The root filled the pot but couldn’t get the nutrients it needed to sustain a green plant. No matter how much water I gave it, the plant was destined to die, scrunched up in the pot with its root choking it.

This is somewhat like life. Roots of bitterness in our hearts will wrap like a vise on my thoughts and emotions, and I’ll not be free to be who I’m destined to be. Instead, we should ask God to forgive us if even the tiniest resentment binds us. He wants to be the gardener of our lives, minds, and hearts.

The long root was only visible after I removed the plant from the pot. From the outside, I could only see I had a seedling that wouldn’t stay green even with water. 

Maybe, like me, you need to pray, ”Search and cleanse me so that I might receive the nutrients I need for a fruitful life.”

(Photo courtesy of pixabay and congerdesign.)

(For more devotions, visit Christian Devotions.)