.................................................................................................................................................
Again
.
Before
our season of blooming, there’s a season of humbling. During the season of
winter when our branches seem fruitless, our roots are digging deeper into the
source of life. On the surface, circumstances may seem far from beautiful and
dormant, but inwardly we are growing. Sweeter is the fruit that grows from
faith in things unseen - character is more important to God than our comfort. It
is only when we die to ourselves, our dreams, our hopes and ambitions, that
we’re ready to sprout with a life that’s not our own - we’re prepared for
Christ to burst forth as our glory
By Amy Manners - Press Service International
Last week its twigs were stark and empty, but
today they’re laden with pastel pinks.
Bees poke their heads into blossoms, while
honeyeaters flit from branch to branch, shaking petals to the ground with their
whipping wings.
Sometimes we think something is dead because
outwardly it appears that way.
But if you were to scrape away the outer
layer of those lifeless-looking twigs, you’d find she has an inner flesh of
green.
A sign that she’s still growing. She hasn’t
given up. There’s life in her yet.
Before our season of blooming, there’s a
season of humbling.
During the season of winter when our branches
seem fruitless, our roots are digging deeper into the source of life.
What happens on the inside when nothing
appears to change on the outside will determine the quality of the fruit that
will one day ripen.
Sweeter is the fruit that grows from faith in
things unseen.
Character is more important to God than our comfort.
If we humble ourselves, and let our dead wood
be pruned, then our pain is not wasted.
The branches left on our hearts have purpose.
For it’s only when we die to ourselves, our
dreams, our hopes and ambitions, that we’re ready to sprout with a life that’s
not our own.
We’re prepared for Christ to burst forth as
our glory.
For He will bud with the beauty of holiness
from all we thought was barren and dead in our lives.
During winter the plum tree is the most
unassuming tree in the garden, yet she doesn’t wallow away and lose sight of
her purpose to bear fruit.
She knows her true identity and all she will
become. She stands in quiet confidence, with faith that her winter will produce
a harvest.
Our situation might look like a helpless heap
of twigs, but He sees the day when we will bloom with His brightness and fill
our world with the fragrance of His glory.
He sees that in every season our branches
point upwards.
And He doesn’t give up on us.
He never stops tending the trees in His
garden.
He prunes us, nurtures us, sings forth our
fruit.
He reminds us growth is a process.
Humility precedes honour. And winter doesn’t
last.
“Arise,
my darling, my beautiful one,
And come along.
For behold, the winter is past,
The rain is over and gone.
The flowers have already appeared in the
land;
the season of singing has come.” -
(Song of Songs chapter 2, verses 10 to 12)
Amy is a Press Services International Columnist from Adelaide. She has a BA in Creative Writing and Screen & Media, and now works as a freelance photographer, videographer and writer. She was runner-up in the 2018 Basil Sellars Award. Her previous articles can be viewed here: http://www.pressserviceinternational.org/amy-manners.html
https://christiantoday.com.au/news/bloom-again.html
