Guest Post by Kayla Cornish:
A rooted life.
Can you imagine the strength and depth of that? It is a life that is anchored in our faith in Christ and in our character.
What is the purpose? To become firm, unwavering, and steadfast during the ups and downs of life and to leave a legacy that blesses generations. We are all bound to go through storms in this lifetime, and a deeply rooted woman withstands the wind, the rain, and whatever may come her way. She is unshakable.
Show me a woman’s response to life, and I’ll show you the depth of her root system.
So how do we respond when…
Life does not go our way?
Our day does not go our way?
The moment does not go our way?
I can be honest to say that my responses haven’t always been the most beautiful or Christ-like.
Over a decade ago, I sometimes felt like I was living a double life during my private Christian college years. Often I was in chapel services, lifting my hands and worshipping with all my heart, yet you would rarely find me intentionally investing in my spiritual growth behind the scenes.
In my heart, I desired to produce better fruit- fruit that was a reflection of this love that I had for Jesus. However, my college days were more marked by high involvement in student government, all-nighters, overachievement, and lots of dating and boy drama than focusing on my relationship with the Lord. My faith often felt shallow, and I was emotionally and physically exhausted from running myself ragged and being the “yes girl” to every opportunity under the sun.
My fruit? Overwhelmed, exhausted, overcommitted, zero boundaries in my relationships. It was not the fruit that I was hoping for. What I really wanted to produce was greater faith, deeper relationships, purity, and emotional steadfastness.
There was a wake-up moment for me.
In a chapel service during my senior year of college, I remember the Lord asking me to lay down at the altar my idols of overachievement and desire to get married. These idols kept me from deepening my roots to their fullest potential in Christ and in my character.
And isn’t that the truth for most of us? When we begin to see that our fruit is not what we are expecting, the “root” of the issue is often an idol of some kind. (Idols are anything that we focus on more than we focus on God. Sometimes it’s our work or achievement. Sometimes it’s our family or relationships or a plethora of other things). I’d like to think that the Lord grew my roots down deeper in Him that day as I laid those idols at the altar.
So the BIG QUESTIONS are: what fruit do you desire to produce in your life? And are you currently producing that fruit?
This is what I know to be true: the health of our fruit is an indicator of the health of our roots.
Healthier the roots, healthier the fruit.
When the Lord revealed this to me, it changed everything. Today, a decade later, rather than focusing on what I achieve, I’m more concerned with becoming more rooted in Christ and in my character. I’m thankful for the journey of deepening my roots in Christ because as I achieved big things in my direct sales business (such as earning a Pink Cadillac), it was done with greater peace and joy than when I strived in college. It was as if the healthy fruit produced in my business resulted from deepening my root system.
My husband and I have been intentionally deepening our roots for the last 10 years. We have learned so much through marriage counseling, having 5 babies in 6 years, co-pastoring a church, and starting 2 businesses. I invite you to read more about our story here!
We realized that sometimes we expect particular fruit in our lives without addressing the roots first through this growth.
We must consistently develop our roots underground (the life beneath the surface) to produce the healthy, long-lasting fruit we want most. Here are 3 key ways to deepen your roots in Christ and in your character to grow the higher quality fruit you are desiring!
1) Commit to a 24 hour day of rest every week.
We live in a busy, non-stop, go-go-go kind of world, and this type of pace can be detrimental to our lives. Author Peter Scazzero in his book The Emotionally Healthy Leader, says, “You can’t live at warp speed without warping your soul.”
It was clear that my soul was being warped in college, and this continued into my marriage. Learning to slow down became my only option to recover and live the deeply rooted life I wanted.
When we float through life with a non-stop, limited-rest schedule, our roots remain shallow. What kind of legacy is this creating? What is this teaching our children? How can we hear or even discern God’s voice?
The solution? Honoring the Sabbath. God created Sabbath for each and every one of us (see Mark 2:27). As you prioritize taking a sabbath every week, you will discover that taking 24 hours of complete rest for body, mind, and soul is vital to living your deeply rooted life. You will also have greater clarity about what the Lord is speaking to you.
When you honor the Sabbath, you will show up as your best self to everyone around you because the fruits of the Sabbath will flow out of you.
This is because when we abide in Him, our roots go deeper, and we produce the healthy fruit we desire. Roots that are deep in a thriving relationship with the Lord produces the fruits of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (see Galatians 5:22-23)
Is this something you want to try but not sure what to do for 24 hours rest besides eat, sleep and watch Netflix? Good news! I have created a FREE resource just for you! In our 101 Unique Ideas to Create Your Perfect Day of Rest mini-guide, you will find 101 fun, restful, and worshipful ideas and one of our favorite sabbath recipes!
Click here to download:
https://deeplyrootedlegacy.ck.page/101restideas
2) Listen to God’s voice first.
I used to have a habit of picking up my phone first thing in the morning. As I would turn my alarm off, I would instantly be bombarded with texts, emails, and social media notifications. Instant temptation overtook me as I would start checking those platforms, and I found myself anxious, confused, and distraught first thing in the morning.
Instead of seeking God’s voice first, I allowed the world’s voice to be the first thing I would hear. It’s humbling to admit this- but in the past, I would sometimes get so carried away that I wouldn’t have enough time to read my Bible and pray. When habits like this continue to repeat, it is difficult for our roots to grow down deep into Him.
Every day the noise from the world competes with the still, small voice of the Lord. By choosing to listen to His voice as our first priority each morning, we gain clarity on His priorities for our day.
We can then be confident that as we walk in God’s Will, we will produce fruit from Him and not ourselves.
And the best part? His fruit produced in us is always greater than the fruit we grow on our own.
3) Continuously seek greater self-awareness.
God has made each of us so unique. By learning about how God has wired you- your personality, strengths, gifts, and talents will support you in producing the fruit that you want in your life and endeavors. As you and I both know, our strengths are beautiful, but they can also become our weaknesses when we are not self-aware. This is why it is so crucial that we are hungry to receive feedback.
Who can you seek feedback from- about the positive as well as your growth opportunities?
I would encourage you to seek feedback from those who know you best (and will provide life-giving and supportive feedback) for their honest thoughts. Some questions you might ask them:
How can I improve my communication?
What would you like me to do more of?
What could I do less of?
When we become more aware of who we are, we can more clearly recognize when we produce fruit that is not of us or is not the quality that we desire. This triggers us to be still with the Lord and reflect on which roots in our lives need healing, growth, or more depth.
From here, I would encourage you to assess your root system, because your home, your community, and the world need your best fruit. Evaluating our fruit requires 3 things: slowing down, listening to the Lord’s voice first, and getting to know ourselves better.
Let’s be women who are brave enough to not only assess our fruit but also seek to deepen our roots to produce even greater fruit.
Want to assess your fruit and grow your roots deeper?
Here are some journaling and reflection questions for you!
What fruits of the Spirit am I producing most frequently in my life? (Love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control)
What fruits of the Spirit do I have an opportunity to produce more of?
What root/s in my life would I like to deepen?
How will deepening those roots impact my relationships, my vocation, and my life?
I would love to hear from you! Email me at info@deeplyrootedlegacy.com and share with me how you plan to deepen your roots!
Rooted in Christ,
Kayla
Meet the Author: Kayla Cornish
Kayla Cornish is a devoted wife, proud momma of 5 young children, a creative writer, artist, and a passionate entrepreneur. She has a heart for discipling and coaching women to live in their God-given potential. Kayla is co-founder of Legacy Roots, Co., a company supporting Christ-followers in developing deeper roots in their faith and character to become trans
formational people who leave behind a lasting legacy. When she isn’t mommying or running her multiple businesses, Kayla loves to serve at her church, eat good food with friends (especially a sprinkled donut), dance, paint, or dive deep into a book. Follow her on Instagram at Kayla.Cornish.is.rooted.