ROOTED - Monday, July 21, 2025

Psalm 27:33
33 The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delights in his way.

Reflection: “July 21 Rooted”
Written By: Pastor Jesse Caro 

Last week I opened my email when I was in Minneapolis on the youth mission trip. An email had come through from Cody (he is the staff person in charge of our church media, website, graphics, etc.) entitled “July 21 Rooted.” I opened it and discovered that he had not received the Rooted devotionals I wrote for this week. Let me explain why this is a big deal. Since the summer was going to be super busy, I have been writing my devotionals about three weeks in advance. Once I send a week of Rooted to Cody, I type over it for the next week. Once that is sent, I type over it… and so forth. I don’t keep weeks of files of Rooted. Once the email is sent, I essentially delete its content and write the next week. Long story short… I accidentally failed to send him the week of July 21 and typed over it… a couple hours of effort down the drain. July 21 Rooted does not exist, though I wrote it weeks ago. DELETED Having made this error, I figured I would re-write this week’s Rooted Devotionals reflecting on the mission trip to Minneapolis, since it is fresh on my mind.
We left for Minneapolis with 18 teenagers on Saturday the 12th and returned Saturday the 19th, exhausted. I knew we would be driving 10 hours Saturday to Indianapolis and 10 hours Sunday… returning Friday the 18th driving 10 hours and Saturday the 19th another 10 hours. We would sleep on air mattresses while in Minneapolis, doing ministry in the city during the day. I must confess that I was not looking forward to this trip. Driving, labor, uncomfortable air mattresses… and high energy teenagers. But on Sunday when we arrived in Minneapolis, I felt so very blessed that God allowed me to go on the trip. Indeed, I had to effectively repent for my poor attitude, and for not trusting God that this trip would be good for me. We have the most wonderful students, and it was a sincere privilege and joy for me to get to know them last week. The ministry work was great, but the blessing for me was the joy of getting to know our students (and the adults who came on the trip). God is so good, and I feel blessed to overflowing.

Prayer 
Lord, thank you for ordering our steps, blessing us in unexpected ways, and for the privilege to serve our students that you have called to our care.