At the beginning of the year I told myself I would not add more books to my shelves until I had finished reading those I already have- some which have traveled from house to house and state to state with me, still unopened. All of this gets thrown out the window, however, when I am given the opportunity for a new and shiny book: at the library, from a friend's bookshelf, or the "free little library" in my neighborhood.
Try as I do to not spend money on books -because I read a lot and my children would like to some day go to Disney and we just can't have everything we want- sometimes I do.
Think Ollies Good Stuff Cheap where, Sure!, I'll drop $3.99 for that book or a thrift store for only 50 cents per paperback!
I took a trip to my local library where, graciously, they are beginning to gather a larger interest in this "Christian-Woman-memoir-storytelling" genre. This is where I discovered Annie F. Downs (LOVE) and her world of bravery upon first arriving in the Keystone State. Some of my favorites to come from the library have been Kelly Corrigan's Tell Me More, and Glennon Doyle's Love Warrior.
Most recently, I have finished a book by an author new to me, another discovery found in Pennsylvania: Christie Purifoy Her book, Placemaker, written in the same poetic manner as Emily P. Freeman and long-windedness of Ann Voskamp, was a success to read!
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| Our offerings of beauty, those seeds of grace and generosity—they are responses to the offerings of beauty and grace and generosity of those who have offered before us. source |
And the premise of Christie's book, the object she returns to again and again, are trees. The names thereof, the shade therefrom, and the root, therein.
She speaks of her brick house two-and-and-half hours away from mine- I checked! She speaks of it's history and it's healing, and she speaks of the trees-and their roots- which have seen more than she and will continue to look on after she.
She writes of settling and planting roots of her own.
So today's devotion: Rooted in God's Love.
I think first of Christie, still so fresh in my mind, and I think of the FunFest we participated in this weekend, the boys and I.
I think of this place and ask myself if I can make a life here- a long-lasting, root-bearing life. The kind of life Christie is so adamantly making where she is.
Today I was part of a five-man (and women) team who saved the babies of a dead opposum. I wrote about it earlier, the details still fresh. You can read that essay here. The entire ordeal overwhelmed me, feeling so far out of my comfort zone, so overcome with compassion for the wild, and so close to people I appreciated but now adore. Our adventure together drawing us closer.
And again I think about roots.
Devotional author Ruth Schwenk reminds us that friendships are important, but not more than our relationship with God. It is true, and I know, but I feel this leading elsewhere, asking me about roots.
Am I grounded in God's Word? In what He says about me?
Am I willing to be grounded if He asks me to stay, or willing to be grounded elsewhere, if He asks me to go?
What about being present in the now, and not wishing for the next season?
It's being present.
It's Big Strong Man building me a window box just as lovely as anything I have seen on Pintrest and filling it with sweet potato vines and heart shaped, draping greens.
It's bubbles at the park.
It's balloon fights with forever friends.
It's my husband telling me I look good dressed down.
It's our neighbor's tree, which he keeps lit year round.
It's being here and it's tending roots.
always,
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