New.
Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord,
whose confidence is in him.
They will be like a tree planted by the water
that sends out its roots by the stream.
It does not fear when heat comes;
its leaves are always green.
It has no worries in a year of drought
and never fails to bear fruit.~ Jer 17:7-8
rooted, 1.
2025 is on our doorstep. A place of possibility. A moment of liminal invitation. How will you enter?
Let me ask you a serious question: What would it mean to move into this new year utterly grounded and rooted? Anchored and solid? For me, it would mean everything… and I think this is a gift God would offer to each of us, if we’re looking for it. I’ll be opening this year with a blog series on how to deepen your roots of stability and nourishment as we continue the lifelong process of creating a soul together with God.
We well know what it feels like to be unrooted. Or even uprooted. The need for safety and security is forged deep in the human soul, yet that need is tested at periodic intervals with times that feel adrift, aimless, disconnected, or at risk. Especially for Head Types (5, 6 and 7 on the Enneagram), the need for rootedness is visceral and pervasive. This isn’t wrong, but we honestly don’t know how deep and healthy our roots are until they are tested by storm.
Storms come in a lot of different packages. One of my friends was unexpectedly “downsized” from a long-term executive position a couple months ago. Another’s pregnancy is overshadowed by uncertainty. You have friends of your own who are facing marital crises, health crises, and financial crises. The national and global landscapes feel increasingly perilous. “Where does my help come from?” queries the psalmist. Where indeed?!
Give me a place on which to stand, cried the ancient Archimedes, and I will move the earth.
Most of us are content just to find some firm footing and heave a sigh of relief; we can leave earth-moving to more ambitious souls. If you’re feeling a desire for ground that feels more solid, I think we can explore that together as we enter this new year. While we may not be able to move the entire earth, I believe God invites us to be co-creators in the formation of our own hearts and our own communities. And this kind of creativity calls for some energy and agency!
I write today’s post from an Airbnb in Heerlen, Netherlands, where we are visiting our girls and their families who now live abroad. Last year we sold our home and are juggling time among three different geographical centers. Meanwhile Kellie and I are finishing our doctoral studies and looking for teaching positions. Parents are aging and grandchildren are coming. 2025 could well bring more cumulative change than we have experienced in our lifetimes.
Which begs the question: Is predictability the basis of rootedness? I hope not because predictability has been steadily eroding in our lives for a couple years! What then? Where does our groundedness come from? From physical and mental resources…? From financial resources…? From relational resources…? From spiritual resources…? From internal identity resources…? From vocational and purpose resources…?
My help comes from the Lord, continues Psalm 121, the Maker of heaven and earth.
Okay, that sounds good, and I believe it. But how does the Lord secure our lives? I believe God roots us through all the channels I just mentioned—physicality, mental health, financial provision, soul friends, spiritual practice, and a strong sense of self and meaning. Any one or more of those channels may be disrupted in your life sometime over 2025. Do you know how to re-center? Let’s set a course together toward Rootedness this year.
growing your soul
As you prepare to watch the ball drop and raise a glass, take a quick assessment of these seven benchmarks in your life. Which ones are thriving, and which need attention? Hold that reality as a prayer of quiet trust before the Maker of Years and the Maker of Lives.
serving our world
Now send out a prayer of quiet trust for the planet—with all its glory and misery—before the Healer of Worlds and the Healer of Hearts.
takeaway
Quiet. Trust.