Growing up going up to the mountains every summer always provided a sense of adventure, freedom, and familiarity to my roots. Being able to run barefoot through the ice cold water and climb the rocks, lakeside, provided me with the knowledge about what life really was about. It always reset me and grounded me. Every year we visited the lake, I would find "the rock" and have to visit/sit on it. It always gave me perspective on life. When I was little it made me bigger, provided a higher view of the water, and made me larger than life. When I was older, it made me realize how important it is to stop, discern, and evaluate situations in life. It was a tradition. A place to stop, and put my thoughts and trust. Every year after MJ was born- we took the kids up to the lake. Each one of them got to sit on that rock, and I know many of my cousins did too. Each of our children got to experience their own feeling of being grounded on a strong foundation.
Ever since I was young, I knew that my strong foundation was with God and my family. That is all I ever needed. A strong faith with a support system/community of love. I have been blessed to see this at a young age through the actions of my family members and upbringing. Being a grand-priest kid, in a large family, being raised in the church, and being taught my family history, allowed me to know my roots and lay my faith on the rocks (those I trust) in my life. There were plenty times when I may have built my house on sand- and I had to rebuild areas of a foundation that washed away, but roots always kept me grounded. In that rebuilding, I always looked back on what went wrong, why, and built a stronger foundation. The experiences always humbled me, because I realize I can never do it on my own. It is ok to admit you don't know everything. It is ok to say help!
What grounds you in life- where are your roots? Who are you?
Who is your rock- where do you put your faith and trust?
In every choice we make, we need to ask ourselves those questions.
In every action we take, we need to not be afraid to show who we are (roots) and where we put our trust (rocks) to others. In doing this, we impact more people than imaginable.
Be rooted, build your faith on The Rock, and be you.
“Every one then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house upon the rock; and the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.”
Matthew 7:24-25 RSV
Photo: Monkey on "the rock"