I pass a parked car on my daily walks through the neighborhood and am always drawn to one of its window decals: an outline of the state of Montana with roots extending from the bottom. The owner of the vehicle must feel rooted in Montana, as I\u2019ve tried to feel. I looked in a few stores for a similar decal so that I, too, could show what I considered my home. Alas, I was unable to find one. But now, it seems that would be an unnecessary accoutrement as we are poised to move on. We came here to be close to our daughter and her family, but her husband, having left his federal job, is moving to the eastern part of the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The East is where I\u2019ve spent most of my life, my familiar stomping grounds, but how I will miss the beauty of Montana. I am in awe of this place where I\u2019ve striven to be rooted. \u201cBloom where you\u2019re planted,\u201d the old saying goes and I\u2019ve tried to do just that, to become established where I am. I\u2019ve been here two and a half years, hardly enough time to become fully rooted, but I\u2019ve given it my best shot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There\u2019s much to miss. The endless azure sky, gazing beatifically through the clouds, makes my heart feel at rest. The enormous billowy clouds in various shades of white and gray, floating above my head and sitting on the shoulders of the huge mountains that surround Missoula take my breath away. Those mountains have rounded contours that were carved by a receding glacial lake, but beyond, I can glimpse the Mission Mountains, the higher, more rugged peaks, teeth outlined by snow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018Tis a delightful place to be rooted.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
During childhood, my family moved frequently which impacted my ability to make friends, to feel comfortable in school, and to feel that I had a home. That\u2019s why place <\/em>is important to me, why I\u2019m a homebody, able to sit happily and comfortably in the place I call home. That\u2019s also why it\u2019s hard for me to leave.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I ponder where I should be rooted. In a place? In people, specifically, in family? Or should I simply be rooted in God and God alone?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jesus said, \u201cIf anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.\u201d (John 14:23 NIV) That sounds like a true home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jesus goes on to say, \u201cI am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.\u201d (John 15:5 NIV) Abiding in God, being rooted in Him. \u201cHe lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.\u201d (Psalm 40:2 NIV) <\/p>\n\n\n\n I can think of no better place to be rooted.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I pass a parked car on my daily walks through the neighborhood and am always drawn to one of its window decals: an outline of the state of Montana with roots extending from the bottom. The owner of the vehicle must feel rooted in Montana, as I\u2019ve tried to feel. I looked in a few […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14029","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/oldkaren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14029","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/oldkaren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/oldkaren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oldkaren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oldkaren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14029"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/oldkaren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14029\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14053,"href":"https:\/\/oldkaren.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14029\/revisions\/14053"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/oldkaren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14029"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oldkaren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14029"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/oldkaren.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14029"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}