From a Brass-bound Stump

Because of her disability, my wife 'brings her garden inside' and is a dab hand with house plants. I never cease to marvel how she can grow beautiful plants from just a piece of leaf. One of her pride and joys is a magnificent maidenhair. With it's feathery green fronds, it has centre stage in our living room.

That is, until we returned home from a few days away, to find that some of it's leaves were turning brown. She realised if it continued like that, it could whither away and die, so drastic action was called for. She had to be cruel to be kind.

The stems were cut down to within an inch of the pot and the whole thing repotted in new soil. It must have been very uncomfortable for that plant to start with, as nothing seemed to be happening. I wondered if it was dead, but my wife knew better. Several weeks later, a tiny green shoot appeared and now we have the makings of a brand new maidenhair, looking fresher, greener and livelier than ever.

When we experience loss, we can be catapulted into a potentially painful scenario. Whether the loss of employment or health, bereavement, an accident, financial difficulty or whatever, it can leave us bewildered, even devastated. We may feel the whole situation is out of our control and that part of us is dying. Initially we may be in disbelief and want to escape from the situation and get back to what was. But as we adjust to the different 'soil' and yield to God and allow the Gardener to gently tend us, we begin to see the opportunities for growth and new life.

We may not be like King Nebuchadnezzar who suffered a period of mental anguish, before God restored him, but we may feel we have been cut back to a 'brass-bound stump.' However, we can be assured that as we look to God, we will come through. Things won't be the same, part of our life may have died, but there will be a new flow of God's life in us.

"Cut down the tree and trim off its branches; strip off its leaves and scatter its fruit. Let the animals flee from under it and the birds from its branches. But let the stump and its roots, bound with iron and bronze, remain in the ground, in the grass of the field." Daniel 4:14-15 New International Version

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Blossoming Through Difficulty

It's now June and I suppose I can now go out without a coat? That is if the old English saying "Ne'er cast a clout 'ere May is out!" is true? I only recently discovered that this has nothing to do with the months of the year, but refers to the May blossom. It was early this year and we had an abundance. The blossoms appeared as usual, on the bare leafless branches of the blackthorn and were a welcome and beautiful sight in spring.

Some while ago, I went through a very difficult period. Medically I wasn't sure what was happening. On top of that, the work I was involved with came to an end and I seemed to have lost any sense of being. For a while I was unable to drive and later on my walking was restricted. With all these 'props' removed, I found it all very depressing and bewildering and experienced what I called a mini-breakdown.

However, as I got used to the blackness and devastation and kept reaching out to God, He blessed me and reassured me of His presence in ways that I could never have dreamt of. Months later, after He had brought me through, I just knew He had done something concrete inside me. I began to experience a closer walk with Father and discovered talents that had remained dormant for a long time. I doubt whether any of this would have happened otherwise.

It seems that sometimes, God allows us to experience being stripped bare, to draw us closer to Him and to experience His promise, that if we put our trust in Him, we will blossom in a new way.

"He has sent me to bind up the broken hearted -- to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendour." Isaiah 61:1-3 New International Version

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Gaining Through Losing

It was our first time in Canada and we visited a church. As the speaker got into his stride, I began to squirm in my seat. God had put His finger on something vital and was speaking directly to me. A longing for more of God in my life was awakened, but also the realisation that something was getting in the way. I felt challenged to surrender my reputation to Him, as I knew that I attached too much importance to what I imagined others thought of me. I made up my mind with God there and then, left it at that and got on with my busy life schedule.

God had not forgotten of course. Several years later, I had to set aside all my Christian work and what went for ministry. Through prolonged illness I lost most of what was fulfilling. It took time for me to come to terms with the situation and work though the feelings with Father. Also the grief I was experiencing wasn't just for the immediate loss, but long-buried grief from years past.

During the time I wrestled with my deprivation, many of the contacts I had made through my Christian involvements began to fall away. I felt forgotten and rejected. I'm sure some thought I had failed or even regarded me - that horrible word - as back-slidden! As one friend put it, I had "fallen off the edge of the table" and was no longer seen as relevant to the Christian activity scene. In truth, I was discovering delicacies at the Lord's banqueting table.

As I accepted the situation and found healing, my vision was renewed and broadened. I began to discover latent gifts and found satisfaction in doing what I was able. More importantly, my knowledge of and intimacy with Jesus was deepening. What I originally saw as a terrible loss, was turning out to be a life-saver. I found that even though I had lost a reputation, I had gained a testimony.

God sees and feels the desires and longings within our hearts, those same desires He put there and is totally committed to enabling us to enter into the 'more' for our lives. The things we may seem as important pale into insignificance to the wonder of walking with Him.

"Not only those things; I reckon everything as complete loss for the sake of what is so much more valuable, the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have thrown everything away; I consider it all as mere garbage, so that I may gain Christ." Philippians 3:8 Good News Bible

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