.

January 2018 musing

We (the family) are totally bemused at what the new normal would/should/can possibly be. For myself, I have been camped in John 15...the Vine and the branches, assured that I need only abide in Him. 

I drive through the glorious beauty of these spring days and observe all the blossoms and leaf buds at various stages depending on the variety of bush or tree ....white, pink, red, purple and a gazillion shades of green. And mixed in-have you noticed?-there’s a kind of tree (I don’t know what it is, but they are tucked in everywhere) that is still full of fall foliage that never fell off.I have learned that the condition has a scientific explanation called marcescence, which is the retention of dead plant organs that normally are shed.  I’m  thinking that’s me. Reluctant to let go. Withered, weathered, and worn but not dead. Just clinging to what was once a beautiful abiding, while, at the same time, hardly able to remember the sweetness of the other season. 

Those dry, dead leaves will let go  because life is  sprouting and  energized and sanctified by that which is the Source. The old will pass away and the new fruit will blossom through no effort of its own, but because it is connected to that which is Life.

“Is the tree that's pruned

preoccupied with pain?

standing with its wound

in the wind and rain....

Shrouded in cool mist,

kissed by the dew, 

chosen for a nest

by a bird or two

Enveloped with fragrance

of rainwashed air,

bloodroots and violets

clustered round it there

gently transfigured

as sap begins to flow

flowers, leaves,

choicest fruit...

How I'd like to know:

Is the tree that's pruned

preoccupied with pain?”

RBGraham

Am I being pruned because  there is no fruit...or that there would be more? I haven’t stopped abiding in Him, so I have to believe He is going to bring me back to life again. Those dry, dead leaves will let go because life is sprouting and energized and sanctified by that which is the Source. The old will pass away and the new fruit will blossom through no effort of its own, but only because it is connected to that which is Life. “I shall not die but live and proclaim what the Lord has done.” Psalm 118:17