In Chapter 4, I read Renee's words and I immediately thought to myself "she gets me!". Renee writes "I wanted God to burn the pages of my old story and write what I thought would be a better story for Him to tell." Isn't that the truth! For those of us who have made one or more poor decisions in our past, particularly ones that carry long term consequences. It would be so wonderful to blot those parts of our history out of the books, to start fresh with blank pages where we can only write down the best parts, or what we hope our future will bring.
Renee continued, "Instead He wanted to finish what He started, completing the work He had begun in me with a narrative that would bind up my broken heart and set this captive free."
If you are at all familiar with potted plants, you might recognize the term "root bound". This is when a plant's roots have grown to the point that they are too big, or too many for the pot they are in. If you leave your plant in such a way, it will eventually die. It has no more room to grow, no more room spread out, and it will begin to almost strangle itself. When we hold onto our past, trying to bury it below the surface we too can become "root bound". We try to keep it all inside and hidden, instead it continues to grow within us, suffocating our joy and happiness and filling us with it's tangled roots.
When a plant is becoming "root bound", the best thing you can do for it is to take the plant out of the pot, untangle the roots and plant it in a new pot, bigger and more spacious for future growth.
Isaiah 51:3 reads "The Lord willy surely comfort and will look with compassion on all ruins; he will make deserts like Eden, wastelands like the garden of the Lord".
Just as we need to release that plant for the captivity of it's small pot, we need to allow ourselves to be set free from the captivity of our past sins. To embrace a wider and more hopeful future. We can stretch out our roots, breath fresh air, and take in the living waters. We can grow into something greater than before and we can use our past to not only move us more steadfast into our future, but as a way to help others. Perhaps our experiences when shared will keep another from taking that same road. Or, we may find that our healed pain provides inspiration for those who are currently hurting, giving them hope that they too will overcome their past.
My grandmother had an aloe plant that was probably older than I was. When my husband I bought our first home, I brought that aloe plant with me. I decided to take it out of it's pot and put it into the ground. As I lifted it out, all to easily, I saw the twisted and mangled roots. This aloe plant was definitely root bound. I began unwrapping the roots, ever so gently, and realized I needed to dig a bigger hole in the ground. After widening the hole, I placed the aloe plant in the ground, patted down the soil around it, and watered it.
This little tiny single aloe plant has grown into an impressive plant, about 5 times the size it was in the pot. It now has multiple off shoots of new growth. It is no longer struggling, but healthy and thriving. When it was released from the pot, it was able to become something new.
Just as we are, when we are released from the captivity of our past & allowed to heal in our present, so that we can flourish in our future.
Isaiah 49:13
"See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland."
We don't have to rewrite our past to become a new person, a better person. We only have to make the active choice to be freed from those bonds, and allow God to finish the work He started in us. We simply have to get out of our own way.
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