Monday, August 26, 2013

Resiliency


My husband and I were pulling out some suckers away from a blueberry bush in our back yard and I noticed this! Heart shaped leaves climbing an unused clothesline that has been drooping unused from the pole.   

In the midst of a day of frustrations, petty frustrations, and definitely first world problem frustrations, this seemed like a sign from God for me. A sign that love is present in the midst of frustrations and the messiness of life and not to wait for some perfect time to express love and to be love. A sign that God doesn't wait till everything in our lives is in order to make an appearance and so why should we wait? In fact, over and over again (I am a slow learner sometimes) I find that life and love is in the messiness of life, despite my constant urge to create order out of the messiness.

Friends have since told me that this is probably wild morning glory that will take over our back yard if not held in check. In that case, isn't it the perfect symbol of God's love and perpetual reaching for us? Wild and untamed, flourishing despite conditions, not because of perfect conditions. 

How often do we neglect our relationship with the divine? I know that despite being in ministry, it is all too easy for me to push aside my need for a personal relationship with God and continue on with the tasks of ministry, trusting that God will be there when I make time, even when I don’t spend much time nurturing that relationship. Think about it, is there any other relationship that would flourish and endure without some effort on your part? And yet every time I turn to God, God is there and I am nourished. I have been a bit more intentional this summer about spending nurturing my spirit, a month of vacation and a month of sabbatical have made it easier. My prayer is that when I return to church life on September 1st, I will carry that habit forward into my ministry life. 

God and nature continue to surprise, delight and intrigue me. The resiliency, determination, and drive to reach for life. Like wild morning glory, God reaches for me, prods me, confronts me and comforts me. And that’s my window on God's world.





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