New Roots In Nature 2024

This is the last week of New Roots in Nature. Shout out to Dzidzor for holding it down at service

last week. I was away in the Bahamas getting some restorative time in nature in my favorite

place – underwater!

Intro:

-On Sat I celebrated 24 yrs since I was certified as a scuba diver in the Caymen Islands.

-It was a dream of my father’s and so he saved up the money so we could do it together

-In early years a lot was about just learning how to dive, but over time as I became more

comfortable, it was able to appreciate the underwater world more and more

-Over the years I have learned so about who God is from observing the ocean

-This summer my life was a bit turned upside down as my health was under constant

attack. When I thought I was getting better something else would hit

-I needed a reset so I went to the Bahamas for a diving trip

-We dove 5 times a day and my first dive be a prayer dive

-On one of our last days, our first dive was site called “The Washing Machine”

-You jump in from the side of the boat while it is moving, drift along and then come to a

place where two currents come together and at that point there is a place where you

feel like you are in the spin cycle – hence the name

-It was a bit disorienting going through but on the other side even though I was still

drifting pretty fast, I felt a sort of peace as I heard God speaking to me

Key Points -

1. We will have disruptive moments in life. They are unavoidable. There are crazy things

happening in the world and we are not immune from them. In some instances Spirit

needs to shake up situations that have gotten staid or stuck.

2. There are plants that live in that environment and I noticed that all of them tended to

be lower to the ground and all were rooted in what we call the substrate- the floor

which in this location was all rock. They stayed close to the source and attached to the

rock (a name often used for Jesus.)

If we learn to anticipate the spin, maybe even embrace it, then we don’t have to be undone or

get stuck. We can lean in and find ways to stay grounded in the midst of the turbulence.

Reflection Questions

1.  Where are you in relation to the Washing Machine? Are you moving fast in the drift, are you being turned upside down, have you just come through. Take some time to reflect on where God is moving.

2.  How are you staying rooted in the substrate or attaching yourself to the rock? What practices are growing/sustaining you? What might you need to do more of to deepen your roots?

3.  Where do you need a different perspective to understand the moment that you are in? How can zooming out or in help you see things more clearly?