Roots

Okay, some of you will see the title of this entry and wonder if I’m going to cover the book written by Alex Haley covering the history of his family from Africa into slavery in America. Some others of you may see the title and think of black magic. I can’t think of how many times I’ve seen an infomercial where somebody says, “She put a root on me!”, exclaiming that someone had done something through use of an old evil practice to hinder that person’s progress through life. And, lastly some of you know that I’m just an old country boy who spent too much time in the hay fields and the woods of rural Sumter County, Alabama. So armed with that knowledge, you might think I’m going to cover horticulture. But, none of these are it.

Instead, I want to talk about the root of who we are and what we do. I recently met a seven year old kid. In him I saw lots of things that had a root of some sort. And, by that word root, I mean an origin. And, in the experience I learned things about myself that I wondered, what are the origin of these? My experience with this little guy made me question where his parents were and what they were thinking to not bring him up with a solid structure? It seemed that he had wondered through most of his life not experiencing real love; the kind of love that I received from my immediate and extended family when I was his age. They thought enough of me and of themselves to guide me through life. Their love affirmed me when I did well. It guided me when I lost my way. It corrected me when I was wrong. But, I looked at this little guy and it was as if he had no consistent affirmation when he did well. He was lost but he fought the very idea that anyone could show him the way. And, he found for himself that he was never wrong. It was only those that offered guidance and correction that could be wrong.

So, to the root of the matter, how far back does blame go for one child who is passed from home to home, never staying long enough to really soak in real love and experience what it is like? And, I am partially to blame because he passed right through here but I find some challenges are indeed too much for one man and his family when work and many other things are calling. Oh, I pray that God helps us to get something right before we leave this earth. Help us to love and help us to explore our roots and eliminate the cause of shallow ones –roots that is.

Much love my friends!
J. Wright