Last spring as I was lying in my hammock one wintry, warm, first feeling of spring days, I happened to catch a glimpse of something very interesting. Although all the trees in my backyard were stripped and bare of any ornamentation, as far, as high up in the top of the tallest tree as I could see, there was one lone leaf still hangin' on for dear life.
It had survived our Arkansas spring storms, our sultry humid heat of the long, summer months, the blustery days of fall, the rigors of our first really hard winter in several years with severe cold and several snows, our February wind storms and hail and was still hanging in there. As I lay there looking up, I wondered what lesson could there be in that picture for me.
As a Christian, I could see where it could symbolize faith, loyalty, perseverance-a determination that was incredible to ponder. I prayed as I lay looking up, "Lord, what lesson is there for me in this?
I watched this leaf over the course of several days. The trees were just starting to bud when I first lay in the hammock. One week went by, the buds were growing bigger by the day, turning into lacy, doille-like golden green leaflets--but I could still see that old, brittle leaf hanging on. Finally, I went out one day and I have no idea if the ugly brown crumbling was still there or not, because it was totally surrounded, totally engulfed by newness.
Oh, Lord, it seemed as if I now realized the meaning in all of this--please help me be faithful and always willing to give a situation everything I have BUT please help me to let go when I need to let go. I pray that while others are flourishing and growing and developing new fruit, I am not holding on to the past--still trying to relish in what You did in my life yesterday. I want to live in the here and now, I want to see Your hand working in my life today.
Yes, it is fun to go back and recapture old stories of your faithfulness but I want to be a part of Your newness.
"Forget about what's happened;
don't keep going over old history.
Be alert, be present. I'm about to do something brand-new.
It's bursting out! Don't you see it? Isaiah 43:19
2010-the Year of Longings
He longs to show us the brand new.
I long to have eyes to see and ears to hear His newness.
Photo: Not the picture of the leaf in the story but one I took last fall--
Bible verse version--The Message
I am joining with Debbie and others over at Heart Choices today. Debbie's post is entitled, "Are You Trusting God With Today?" and was written in response to this prompt by Priscilla Shirer in One In A Million:
“The spirit of complaint is born out of an unwillingness to trust God with today. Like the Israelites, it means you are spending your time looking back toward Egypt or wishing for the future, all the while missing what God is doing right now.”
