Friday Thoughts by the Fire: #75

Cling to the roots

Photo by Evie S. on Unsplash

Chris Farley was one of my favorite comedic actors growing up. He unfortunately lost his life too soon. In one of his movies (Black Sheep), he starts tumbling down a hill violently. About half way down he barely catches a weed that is growing out of the side of the hill.

He has a moment where he pleads with the “little roots” to hold strong. They are the only thing stopping him from falling the rest of the way down as he holds on.

There are Earth-shattering moments in life that can bring us straight to our knees. Usually the only thing that keeps us from falling on our face in these moments is the thing we catch on the way down.

The significance that gets buried in the turmoil of these moments rests within the testimony that is created because of them. While in the muck, we rarely are able to look around and see all the ways we're growing. We're simply trying like hell to survive. To get out. To see a clearer day.

The true value is found in hindsight. Life experience can be an incredible gift that comes at a crushing cost. But if you've ever been around a wise and gentle soul — someone who can simultaneously care about the details of your life and also speak into it unlike anyone you know — then you can rest assured they have seen some darkness too.

It's in the dark where we learn to find resources without the light. It's in the dark where we're forced to feel our way around until we eventually find it — the switch. We can't see in the dark. But seeing isn't the point anyway, rather adapting might be.

Sometimes in the free-fall, we end up reaching out a desperate hand hoping to catch those roots that can hold strong enough for a little while longer. They often come in the form of the people we hold most dear.

The people that will never judge us for the extra tears and will relish in the opportunity to feel the weight of our struggle.

In my life, I'm constantly testing my roots and hoping that they hold strong for just another hour. But I think the sweetest part in it all, isn't that they'll forever stop me from falling.

It's that if they do happen to give way, I know that they are going to endure the fall with me. All the way to the bottom.

There is no greater love than this; that someone lay down his life for his friends.

John 15:13