Roots

It took me most of my life to realize I had roots. And only after that did I come to appreciate the importance of roots. I moved an average of every 3 years growing up. Yep, that’s 6 times in 18 years. Roots? What are they? My family didn’t seem to have roots, either. My dad’s parents had retired from NY and moved to GA the year after I was born. In fact, no one lives any more in the town my dad and his siblings grew up in. And that town isn’t the town where my grandparents grew up, either. No roots. My mom’s parents were always living in parsonages around southern NJ, the result of Grandpa being a Methodist pastor. I think their roots were around where my Great-Grandma lived in northern NJ, but still. Those grandparents were always changing houses. What are roots?

As a young adult, I kept moving around. Four years in college included a semester abroad. Two years in grad school in a different town. Two years of teaching in another state. Then to another country. Then back. Roots? Who needs ‘em?

But you know what? My grandparents are or will be buried in the same cemeteries as their parents and a few other relatives. And you know what else? I have a root tendril in that college town, and in that grad school state, and where I taught, and in that other country. I have a tendril in those cemeteries, even though I’ve only visited them maybe twice each in my life.

I remember a conversation in the movie “Sweet Home Alabama” about having both roots and wings. The wings came naturally to me; they’re obvious. The roots I had to search for, learn how to look for, learn to appreciate. However, both are important. Wings need roots for the nutrients they can provide. But roots without wings stagnate, and eventually are forgotten and die.

The roots at Orange UMC go deep. The earliest birth year on a headstone in the cemetery is from 1806 (that I found, anyway). There is history here at Orange. This church has been around a while and seen a lot. One new family came to visit the church precisely because of that cemetery. They said it meant the church had roots and that idea really appealed to them. They wanted a church with roots. But this church has wings, too, as it sends off foreign missionaries and welcomes others, as it sends off youth to college and families who move away and welcomes new members. This church is growing, because of those roots feeding in the nutrients to the wings. We’re going through some growing pains right now, which is normal and painful. We need the roots and the wings and everything in between to get through these growing pains. We need the nutrients and we need the far-reaching vision of the wings. As Paul wrote, the body needs all its members and no one body part is more or less important than any other (1 Corinthians 12:12-27). Please pray for our church as we go through these growing pains.