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Root Hairs and Dandelions

Children are delighted by dandelions.  They love to pick the yellow flowers and take them to loved ones as tokens of their affections.  I’ve had small bouquets of those little flowers in my house on numerous occasions thanks to my children and grandchildren.  I loved receiving that spontaneous gesture of love, and proudly displayed them in little vases.  Bonus: Picking the blooms will prevent them from going to seed.

Many a child has enjoyed those stems of fluffy  “wishes” that we know are future dandelions.

Root hairs are what I call those tiny roots that run off the main root of a dandelion.  You can pull the dandelion and its big long root, but there are oodles of little root hairs still in the ground.  Underground, those root hairs get busy.  Soon, new dandelions are sprouting up in your yard again.

George and I had words on Saturday evening.  Well, it was more me than George.  Yes, the topic was silly, but the real issue was my old insecurities.  Again!  George’s action projected disapproval, and I felt hurt.  Sadly, I allowed that hurt to express itself through anger and angry words.

Like dandelion seeds, those words cannot be retrieved.  So, the root hairs of my insecurities bloomed, flowered and were blown around our home in an instant.  I cannot tell you how quickly it all happened.  Remorse instantly followed.  Of course, saying “I’m sorry” is not enough.  It doesn’t erase the hits to the heart that angry words cause or the bruising that follows. 

I wasn’t alert to what was growing in my heart.  It was silent and happened without warning.  I didn’t even recognize it until it had fully bloomed.  Even then, I didn’t recognize the root of the problem until I’d spent a lot of time before the LORD.

I’m glad to say that George’s forgiveness was complete and we enjoyed making up later.  But, I do wish I had never allowed myself to be less than vigilant. 

Then, so far as your former way of life is concerned, you must strip off your old nature, because your old nature is thoroughly rotted by its deceptive desires; and you must let your spirits and minds keep being renewed, and clothe yourselves with the new nature created to be godly, which expresses itself in the righteousness and holiness that flow from the truth.  Ephesians 4:22-24 (CJB) 

Father, thank You for Your forgiveness and for healing the hurts my words inflicted.  Please expose and remove all the root hairs of my old nature.  Replace them with Your goodness, righteousness, and shalom.  Amen.


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