Week 5: Rooted in Our Liberation | 2023 Pre-Conference Devotional

I grew up in South-Central Florida, and every summer of middle and high school I went to a week-long overnight camp, buried deep in the woods far beyond the busyness of the Tampa suburbs I was accustomed to. At the center of camp, there is a labyrinth made of stones and pavers. One week when I was in high school, we spent some of our worship and meditative time outside on the labyrinth. 

The hundred-degree heat and intense humidity were only bearable because of the oak trees sheltering the labyrinth space. They hovered around, branches waving and overlapping with each other, creating a mystifying outline against the bright blue sky and sparse cloud coverage. I remember laying in the center of the labyrinth and glancing up, the leaves of the oak trees sheltering my eyes from the sun’s rays. 

The passage states that God’s people will be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord. God’s people - those who are oppressed, those who are brokenhearted, those who are captive or prisoner, and those who mourn. We are God’s oaks of righteousness, firmly planted in this world by a kind and loving creator who believes in all that we can become. God puts faith in our ability to overcome difficulty and despair, and to even grow through it. God promises us justice, good news, healing, freedom, and comfort. 

Those oak trees at camp were a shelter to me, both literally and figuratively. They were planted decades before my shoes ever touched the dirt of the campground, by people who had faith that a small seed could grow into something beautiful. The people who curated this sacred labyrinth space at camp did so trusting that it could be a space of transformation and wholeness for those to come. Being that it was Florida, I don’t doubt that the oaks went through many turmoils in their journeys of growth and becoming. Hurricanes and tropical storms, floods, drought, wild creatures and the like. Even so, these oaks were resilient. And, they didn’t do it alone. Trees that are close together use their root systems to communicate, and share water and nutrients so that each tree can thrive. These oaks are an example of the interconnected nature of a fruitful community that God has promised us.

We have been planted by God into this life, with care and intentionality. God will never leave us or forsake us. God will bring around us a community of care, support, and mutuality to support our wholeness and our becoming. Why? Because we are whole-heartedly loved and held in Divine kindness. We are God’s oaks of righteousness, and Conference is a time for us to draw near to one another and see how our root systems intertwine. What can we share? What do we need? How can we lift each other up? We have been promised that we will be free from oppression, so that we can live and love freely. With the help of God, may we all love extravagantly and cultivate radical belonging reflective of the heart of God.

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