I have this plant in my yard called a Bougainvillea. When I first got it, I put it in a pot and set it in the flower bed so that it could be watered with the rest of the plants when the sprinklers came on.
One day I looked out, and it was blooming beautifully! The Bougainvillea is a bushy type of plant with gorgeous pink flowers all over it. I decided to move the pot to our back porch so that I could see it better and enjoy the blooms. I walked outside and gave the pot a good tug, but it didn't budge. Now that surprised me because it wasn't that big. I tried harder to lift it, but I still couldn't move it. Then I realized what had happened. The roots had broken through the pot and grown down deeply into the flower bed. That pot wasn't going anywhere!
That moment reminded me of a scripture. The apostle Paul said in Ephesians 3, "I pray that you be rooted and grounded in love." God wants us to be like that pot. He wants our roots to go down so deep that nothing can move us! Not criticism nor trials nor fears. No matter what the storms of life bring, we can stand strong just like that pot when our roots are strong.
The thing is that oftentimes, we want to be everything all at once. We want to be strong and mature, and God wants that for us, too. But just like that flower pot had to sit in the sun and receive water day after day, we have to sit in God's presence every day, too. We have to remember that growth is a process. Our love has to grow over time. It takes time to become strong and secure in Him. We shouldn't become impatient when things don't happen as quickly as we'd like. Just trust that as you spend time in His presence, your roots will grow deep, and you'll be able to handle whatever comes your way!
"Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as you trust in him. Your roots will grow down into God's love and keep you strong." (Ephesians 3:17, NLT)