Boundaries: Get Off the Crazy Train.Sample

Have you ever picked fresh fruit that looks amazing but when you take a bite, it’s foul because it’s rotting on the inside? Insert barf emoji. It’s kind of a good representation of unhealthy relationships – they might look like they are put together and healthy on the outside but inside they are rotting and impossible to get any nourishment from. If we are surrounded by rotting fruit, we will feel exhausted, disheartened, disappointed, drained, and discouraged.

But what if your spiritual roots were so healthy that your life was full of the fruit of the spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control? Scripture says that we will be known by our fruit.

There are times where we just plant the seeds and wait. And wait and wait. God says there is a time for extended grace and understanding and PATIENCE so that we give the fruit a chance to grow. A time where you might need to nurture the boundary after you plant it. A time to encourage it and offer a trellis for it to grow on. A time where you over-water it to make sure it’s not dying of thirst. A time where you give it extra supplements to give it a better chance for bloom. And even a time to cut the bad fruit out: the unhealthy conversations, the unhealthy expectations, and demands, the unhealthy people.

When we have healthy roots - when we are connected to God’s wisdom and discernment - our branches show it. Our actions show it. Our spirit shows it. Our conversations show it. Our relationships show it.

We flourish – we grow like crazy, we are FULL, God feeds others through us, we “prove to be his disciples” because we are glorifying him. We can’t bear fruit by ourselves but if we abide in the vine (God), then he will bring the fruit.

Your roots are the source of your identity, the source of your peace, and the source of your nourishment. So, they’ve got be strong, healthy, and deeply planted in good soil (the Word) so that your relationships are abundant with fruit.