(Rev. Sara Bartlett is the pastor at Second Congregational in Norway located on the corner of Main and Paris. She has hosted a spiritual gathering on Fridays at WMARI, and is a volunteer in our community.)
My Dad died several years ago, but when he was still alive, he would read “Mike Mulligan and his Steam Shovel” to my youngest child who, at the time, was four years old. They would read it over and over…and well.. over again. Tristan at the age of thirteen still has the book in his room. Those memories are important to him and what he can hold onto.
AND
Here we have my backyard. Honestly, I am not sure what memories I will have of how it currently looks, and our eventual goal for it, but the yard does look a bit like a Mike Mulligan came and is starting to work on it.
BUT unfortunately, no machinery can really be used. Earlier this year, my family had our Norway Maple trees, and an old wire fence removed between our yard and our backyard neighbor’s yard. Our goal is to have a new wooden fence, new trees and flowers, a brick patio and at some point, a deck.
As you can see in the photo, the roots are all through the ground. This chaos was expected as one of the reasons we removed the trees was because the roots were not only damaging the lawn, but also were starting to impact the structure of the house. We have been asked why we don’t use an excavator, but our yard is really too small for any vehicle to work well, as a result, we are digging up the dirt and the roots by hand.
It is hard work.
and when we think we’ve got headway, larger and larger roots show up.
Really, these dang roots are just like life goals, in so many ways:
family relationships, faith community relationships, substance use disorder, physical and mental health, our own sense of self, our faith journeys, the health of loved ones, and/or career advancement etc, etc.
When you think you make headway towards your goal, you find bigger and bigger roots need to be dug up before you get there. Sometimes I think I am making some headway, and then “boom” I have to take a couple of steps back in order to get where I want.
But I also am finding that the process of removing the roots is so satisfying, and rather meditative, and with the help of others, I am not alone as I do this work.
So, as any of you work on goals for yourselves, your health, or any relationships you have, or any people you love, remember that sometimes to get there, you have to dig up the underlying roots, and that can be really hard..and yet also satisfying in the small steps we all have to take.
You’ve got this, and you are not alone.
Blessings,
– Rev. Sara Bartlett