April 5, 2023 Those roots are everywhere! I’ve mentioned before that I enjoy aquariums. I’m currently running and maintaining five planted tanks – tanks that grow live plants. When I first got into the hobby and was shopping for plants to include in my tanks, my main criteria was plants had to be “beginner friendly.” They had to be hardy, grow easily and be relatively low maintenance. One of my first plants was a large-growing plant with long, skinny leaves, an Amazon Sword. While some aquatic plants draw nutrients from the water column, others, like my Amazon Sword, spread roots in the substrate in search of nutrients. What I didn’t know when I purchased and planted my Amazon Sword was that the species has a reputation for taking over a tank. Amazon Swords can grow rapidly. As quickly as the part above soil grows, the roots grow and spread even faster! Those roots spread to every corner of the tank, wrapping around the roots of other plants and around any hardscape (rocks, driftwood, décor…) touching the soil. They change the composition of an affected tank’s substrate – the foundation of the tank. I’ve tried to use barriers to keep the roots from certain sections of my tank, but they always seem to find a way into those walled-off areas anyway. As we approach this holiest week of the year, I was thinking about where I am in my spiritual journey. While I’m trying to give my will and my life to our Lord, there are still those areas of my life and personality where I put up barriers, areas I wall off and keep for myself just as I wall off those areas of my tank. It’s like I say to God, “you can control this aspect of my life and this one, but I prefer to hold on to these areas over here and run those myself.” While I’m working on giving those walled off areas to God, too, I’m still not very good at it. Even in those areas we try to wall off, though, our Lord has ways of getting in, and he has ways of changing us. He’s everywhere. |
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