Do you ever feel stretched to the limit? To the breaking point?
At our family property on the river is a limb that stretches out over the water. I used to hear my mother say her father swore it would break off in the next flood…over and over. Then she said it. All my life I have watched it survive flood after flood. But it keeps growing and stretching out over the water.
When my mother was a child, it came out to the second tuft of branches you see, the ones hanging down toward the water by the backdrop of the white cement of the “old dock”. When I was a child, it had grown to the length of the third tufts, right under where you see the blue raft perched on the dock. When my son was a child, it had grown to the little notch before it bows up again. He is now in his thirties.
It seems floods give it even more gumption to grow! A tree expert once told us the branch’s strength is in the fact that it has kept stretching. It remains pliable and can bounce and dip with the waves when the flood waters rage.
It makes me think of our lives as believers. If we can keep stretching towards Christ (The Living Water) and still stay attached to Him (The Vine), even if our lives flood with stress and bad happenings, we can bounce back time and time again.
That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither— whatever they do prospers. Psalm 1:3
Prosper as in grow.
Swimmers and canoers stop by our branch daily during the summer months and can’t help but grab onto it. Fishermen dangle traut lines off of it hoping to catch dinner. Daring folk, young and old, try to tightrope walk it. Generations have grown up watching that limb, fascinated by it. Strangers point at it and marvel.
May my life be like that.
Lord, keep stretching me to reach out to You, knowing that You will be my strength despite the odds. Keep me pliable to Your will. Help me to stay anchored to You, the eternal vine- trunk, no matter what comes my way or what others say. In You alone can my hope be found. Let me branch out and draw others to you, fascinated by my growth. To You be the honor and glory. Amen.
I stacked the boxes in the back of my closet, stretched the kink from my lower spine, and walked back into the living room.
it has been for the past four years. May this blog be filled to His glory this year with ways I’ve found God in my daily journey so you can be encouraged to seek Him in your day as well.
When he opened the bag, a ladybug flew out. It landed on his hand.
Like a mowed field…
Sometimes, does not out precious Lord do the same for us? This week, a group of authors were mowed down – now we will be more lush and perhaps a bit stronger in our faith. I know soon we will all blossom in ways we never imagined.
I downloaded a solitaire card game onto my computer. Each day it has a “win-able” hand you can choose to play. But often times, there are multiple choices. Move the card to the wrong stack or the wrong stack to a blank space and you might get stuck. Then a message pops up. “This is a winning hand. Do you want to replay or be shown how to win?” Most times, I choose replay. I want to figure it out for myself. A few times, I have ended up exasperated enough that I let the computer show me how to win.
overcome evil with good (Romans 12:21). His mercy is newly provided every morning. (Lamentations 3:23) He will restore my life. (Psalm 17:20).
I read something this morning that reminded me so much of you I had just to let you know. The reading was about a woman who watched a spider build its web while she was sitting on the porch. The spider’s web was reflected by the sunlight. The web had three strong anchors: one to the top of the railing and two attached to the side rails. As she rested and read, she watched the little spider spin its web.
and love. Hunker down into God’s mighty grace and you, too, will glisten. And what a witness it will be.
I always took the first part of the passage as an action. In my church, each Sunday we pray for the president, governor, Congress, city council and mayor. Over my life there have been times I gritted my teeth, but prayed anyway, out of obedience. After all, that is what Scripture tells us to do, right?
But we can act out what our coinage states and place our elected officials and this nation’s people under God’s care, trusting in Him. In other words, pray for them. We may not see a change in their attitudes or beliefs, but we may see one in us. Our hearts may become more palatable to loving our neighbors and our enemies. Our anxieties or frustrations may minimize. Hope may bubble up a bit more in our souls.
When I was in London several years ago, there were signs reminding people to be aware of the gap between the platform and the subway car. “Mind the Gap” paraphernalia was everywhere, so I bought a magnet as a memento. I stuck it on my fridge.
knowledge of all things eternal stands outside of our wisdom and knowledge of only this moment and our memory-colored past. He sees it all, past present and future, beyond the shackles of time. He knows. That is why Jesus stated, “I am the Way.”
I have to turn my house plants ever so often or they will grow crookedly. They will repeatedly bend towards the source of light coming into my apartment from the window. Pretty soon, if I don’t rotate them, one half of the plants will be bare. Those leaves on the dark side will shrivel and die. The side aimed toward the light will flourish and grow. However, it will be at a skewed angle, and some of the leaves may be crowded out. It won’t look very healthy because the whole plant hasn’t been exposed the same amount to light.
Where Did You Find God Today? 