We have a ridiculously long rock wall along our driveway. Every spring it requires endless weeding. As I spend days working my way down the wall, I keep telling myself, “Get the roots.” If I can’t get to the roots, the weeds will immediately grow back. As my back and hands tire, I remember how beautiful it is once everything is in full bloom. Flowers cascade down the rocks. It makes the work to pull the weeds worth the work.

³² “‘I’m not doing this for you. Get this through your thick heads! Shame on you. What a mess you made of things, Israel. ^33-36 “‘Message of God, the Master: On the day I scrub you clean from all your filthy living, I’ll also make your cities livable. The ruins will be rebuilt. The neglected land will be worked again, no longer overgrown with weeds and thistles, worthless in the eyes of passersby. People will exclaim, “Why, this weed patch has been turned into a Garden of Eden! And the ruined cities, smashed into oblivion, are now thriving!” The nations around you that are still in existence will realize that I, God, rebuild ruins and replant empty waste places. I, God, said so, and I’ll do it. (Ezekiel 36:32-36 MSG).

This is exactly what God has done in my life. He has dug out the roots of the weeds and replaced them with a beautiful garden. Roots of fear, anxiety, rage, along with roots of unworthiness and so much more, no longer have a hold on my existence. This took self work, prayer, and trust to get the roots.

God faithfully chooses his children, all of us, to rebuild, to restore, to make whole. God chooses to clean out our roots, to do the deep work of restoration because we are worthy, because that is what love does. The work does require that we are willing to change, let go, and trust God’s love to walk us through the hard parts of identifying and releasing the roots. Restoration can look like this.

Are you willing to get the roots? Are you willing to let God rebuild you from the inside out? Share your story here and breathe life and bring hope to others.