Season 4 EP. 94 Let's Get to the Root Before We Expect Fruit (C2TC8 H.E.R. Circle)

Season 4 EP. 94 Let's Get to the Root Before We Expect Fruit (C2TC8 H.E.R. Circle)

What if the thing demanding your attention isn't actually the problem?

As we kick off Season 4: Walking the Garden, Madison Samone Chase invites listeners into a season of inventory, stewardship, discernment, and growth.

In a world obsessed with outcomes, appearances, productivity, and harvests, this episode challenges us to slow down long enough to examine what may be happening beneath the surface of the people, places, and things shaping our lives.

Through the lens of faith, personal growth, wellness, and intentional living, Madison explores why some of life's most important lessons are discovered when we stop focusing solely on results and begin paying closer attention to what is producing them.

This episode is for high-performing women, mothers, aunties, godmothers, single moms, dog moms, entrepreneurs, caregivers, and anyone navigating a season of growth, transition, healing, stewardship, and becoming.

As always, C2TC8 offers 3 Keys 🔑 and 1 Reflection Question ❓ to help you pause for a cause, reflect, and carry the lesson with you long after listening.

30 New Episodes launch the 15th of every month for 15 days, with 2 episodes daily at 8AM and 8PM CST.

🤍 Join and support C2TC8 H.E.R. Circle

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If this episode pricked your heart or lit a spark, please follow, share it with someone you care about, leave a comment so this becomes a dialogue and not a monologue, and leave a five-star review.

And remember, there's always grace in this space.

Blessings to You & Yours! Until tomorrow.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Season four. Welcome. This episode is entitled Let's Get to the Root Before We Expect Fruit. A tree in my mother's backyard was recently cut down. And let me start by saying, me and my mom, we absolutely love trees. And that may be where I got my love of trees from. If we're taking a road trip and we're driving and we notice oak trees or weeping willow trees or magnolia trees, I just think trees have stories. And I love trees. And so does my mom. And so recently, the tree that was cut down in my mother's backyard, the guy who she hired and wanting to do business with someone that looked like her and I, she hired this guy and great guy, but he didn't have all of the tools necessary to cut the tree down. He cut most of the tree down. The tree was gone, that visible evidence of the tree. The branches were gone, the leaves were gone, the trunk of the tree was gone. And the visible evidence of being able to see the tree was gone. But there are a couple of things that remain. The stump remained and the roots remained. And after a while, mushrooms began appearing. And me in my I want to be a gardener season or I want to have a garden and I'm a fresh, I'm gonna start a garden. I was like, ah, are these mushrooms edible? But once it rained and the mushrooms began appearing everywhere, my concern was if these aren't edible and the dogs eat the mushrooms. Could something go wrong? But as soon as the sun appeared, the mushrooms began drying up. And at first glance, it looked like the mushrooms were the problem. But the mushrooms weren't the problem. The mushrooms were simply doing what mushrooms do. They were feeding on wood that was already decomposing beneath the surface. And it made me wonder: what if the mushrooms weren't the story? And how do I get to what the story is? And what I believe the story is. The story is the root. The root is the story. So as we began season four, walking the garden that I am working on, me and my mom, I want us to think about the people, places, and things in our lives. Because every person, every place, and everything produces fruit. And the real honest question is what kind of fruit? And if we're not happy with the fruit, maybe it's time to stop staring at the branches and the tree and start examining the roots. Today we're talking about getting to the root before we expect great fruit or good fruit. Hey y'all, I'm Madison Simone Chase, also known as Miss Chase. I was raised in church, and my faith journey has always been at the center of who I am. So much so that my mother's grandmother, my great-grandmother, used to play the piano in church, and I used to actually sing in the choir as a little girl at church. And I tried to sing in the choir as an adult in church. It's not my gift. But I tried anyway. I made a joyful noise. And I am incredibly thankful to have been raised by a super amazing, high-performing, hardworking, sacrificial single mother who remains my biggest fan and forever bestie, best friend for real. And honoring God through service and making my mama proud and using the gifts he gave me and being kind and not nice has always been deeply important to me. And so over the past several seasons of cut to the chase at eight, now C2, TC8, her circle, which stands for high performing, empowered women who are ready to thrive, and some men too. We've talked about awareness, detoxing, discernment, boundaries, being kind and not nice, rebuilding and becoming. But as I entered this next season, season four, I found myself thinking less about what needed to be removed and more about what needed to be cultivated as a gardener, as a someone who has a garden. Because before a gardener plants for the next season, he or she walks the garden. They take inventory, they noticed what flourished, they notice what struggled, they notice what produced fruit. They notice what never took root. They notice what needs pruning. And the gardener notices what has completed its purpose. And that's what season four is all about. Walking the garden and starting a new garden. And taking an honest look at the people, the places, and things in our lives, not with judgment, not with shame, but with wisdom. Because every person, every place, and everything produces fruit. And before we ask for a bigger harvest, we may need to take a closer look at our roots. And roots could actually be people, places, and things. And so whether you're a high-performing mother, single mother, foster mother, dog mother, caretaker, entrepreneur, high-performing, aspiring entrepreneur, high-performing single mother, caretaker, working a nine-to-five job, juggling two or three jobs because you really have a desire to work for yourself and travel the world. If you are quietly rebuilding or simply trying to grow through life one season at a time, the space and this circle, her circle, is for you. So if you're listening or watching, I want you to pull up a real chair or a digital chair and grab yourself a cup of hot or cold herbal tea. And welcome to my cozy home and digital home of Cut to the Chase at 8. Now C2TC8, her circle, which stands for high performing, empowered women and some men who are ready to thrive. A 15-minute micro learning moment for macro living transformations. And I am truly overjoyed that you are here because this is where we explore life together through our lived experiences, yours and mine, while giving ourselves real grace in this space and lots of grace in this space as we navigate some really interesting times. And here we talk about spirit, mind, and body health because our health truly is our wealth in microdoses for macro living. So make sure you join me twice daily for just 15 minutes at 8 a.m. and 8 p.m. Central Standard Time, because this is your daily pause for a cause, for clarity, for wellness, discernment, grace, healing, intentional decision making, stewardship, and most of all growth. Because how we start our day and how we end it matters. Each episode of my offer to you is three keys and one reflective question. And that question, my prayer is, and my hope is that it is something practical, something grounded, and something that you could carry with you long after this episode ends. So wherever you're listening from, I want you to turn it up and tune in. And if anything you hear today preaks your heart or lights a spark, I'd love for you to subscribe. Share this episode with someone you care about. Leave a comment so that this episode becomes a dialogue and not a monologue. And please leave a five-star review or rating so that this space can continue to grow and serve others. Now let's take one breath together. We're going to inhale for three, two, one, exhale for five, four, three, two, one. We live in a culture that is obsessed with fruit, especially now because the way our fruit gets to grocery stores and how it gets to the grocery stores sometimes tells a whole other journey. And we want healthy relationships. That could be romantic relationships, that could be friendships, that could be relationships with our family, that could be friends that we've known for a short while or friends that we have known for most of our lives. We want thriving businesses, we want strong faith, we want peace, we want purpose, we want abundance, and we want a harvest. But very few of us, including myself, spend time examining the roots. And gardeners who have a garden, who are working on creating a garden or starting a garden, they understand something that many of us forget. The fruit tells a story. The root tells the truth. If a tree is unhealthy, eventually the fruit will reveal it. Or it just won't produce fruit at all. If the soil is depleted, eventually the harvest will reveal it. And if the roots are rotten, eventually something above ground will reveal it. The mushrooms in my mother's yard, they weren't the problem. They were evidence. Evidence that something beneath the surface was still decomposing. And I wonder how many years of our lives look exactly like that. A relationship ended years ago, but the roots of abandonment still remain. We still keep looking back and re-examining what happened. A job change, but the root of scarcity remains. A friendship ended, but the root of resentment remains. A church or church hurt was left behind, but the root of hurt remains. The visible part is gone, but the root remains, and eventually something grows from it. And as we begin virtually, digitally walking through this garden series, I want us to take inventory of our P P T, our people, our places, and things. And not with judgment, because we've done enough of that. And not with shame, because who wants to do that to themselves? But with curiosity. Because every person, every place and thing in our lives produce fruit, people. What fruit does this relationship consistently produce? Is it peace? Is it is it growth? Is it reciprocity? Is it joy? Or is it confusion, exhaustion, anxiety, resentment? What fruit does this environment produce? Does it nourish you? Does this place challenge you? Does it increase your faith? Does it help you grow? Or does it keep you small and fearful and depleted? Things. What fruits are your habits producing? What fruit are your commitments producing? What fruit are your routines producing? What fruit are your goals producing? Because our fruit tells a story, but the root tells the truth. And before we ask God, our Holy Spirit, for more fruit, more harvest, more opportunity, better relationships, more relationships, more success, perhaps we should first ask ourselves, what's happening beneath the surface? Because healthy fruit begins with healthy roots, and unhealthy roots eventually reveal themselves. Not to shame us, not to punish us, but to invite us into deeper healing. Which brings me to our three keys. Key number one, the fruit tells a story, the root tells the truth. And pay attention to the fruit, but investigate the root with curiosity, not judgment. Key number two, every person, place, and thing produces fruit. And the real question, the honest question, isn't whether fruit exists. The question is whether the fruit is healthy. Key number three, inventory isn't punishment. Inventory is preparation. Gardeners take inventory before placing and planting a new season. And we should too. Which brings me to question number one. What area of our lives are we trying to fix at the fruit level when God may be inviting us to examine the root? So the mushrooms weren't the problem. They were the messenger. The tree was gone, but the roots remained. And before a gardener expects fruit, she examines the roots. So before we ask for more harvests this season, let's be willing to take a closer look beneath the surface. Let's get to the root before we expect fruit. And as we move through this week, pay attention to the fruit, but don't stop there. Let's ask ourselves what the fruit may be revealing about the root. And remember, gardeners don't force growth, they create the conditions for growth. So continue giving yourselves real grace in this space. And let's take a breath together to close out this episode. We're gonna inhale for three, two, one, exhale for five, four, three, two, one. If this episode pricked your heart or lit a spark, I want you to please subscribe and share this with someone you care about and leave a five-star review so that we could continue to grow and serve others. And thank you again for listening to Cut to the Chase at 8 now C2TC8, her circle, which stands for high, performing, empowered women who are ready to thrive, and some men too. Circle. And it is a community together. Until next time, I'm Madison Simone Chase, and this has been Cut to the Chase at 8C2TC8, Her Circle, a 15 minute micro learning moment for macro living transformations. Blessing to you and yours until tomorrow.