How can a plant reflect how we are abiding in Christ and Him in us? Lynn shares.
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. . . . Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me” (John 15: 1-2, 4).
A friend gifted me with a huge hanging basket of fuchsias in early June. I became their caregiver. Soon so many of the buds were dropping to the floor of my outside deck, enough to make me concerned.
I talked with a garden nursery specialist and found out that this is normal initially. It makes room for new growth to emerge. She offered other tips.
At times, some parts of the plant actually dried up while still in the soil. Overall the plant rallied with time and care. As I write this it is nearing the end of August. The plant is thriving.
During this same three month time period, I was going through multiple medical evaluations, as fatigued and stressed as my plant had looked at times.
I’d rally when good reports were the outcome of the tests. God was pruning me of the anxiety that built up when each new health twist and turn arrived. He was tending me and desiring to strengthen my trust so I could wait well and remain abiding in the trust He has in me.
My desire was (and remains) to stay at rest in Him so that lifeless wilting worries fall to the ground while God’s life-giving presence remains my strength, steadying me.
I seldom feel like I am bloom-ful but as God nourishes me, He sees with eyes that look beyond how I feel. He observes my heart where the seeds He has planted of His plans for me await His time to flourish.
I want to partner with Him, fostering fruit on His vine. When He looks upon the work accomplished so far I pray He is glorified by what He sees.
Prayer: Lord, break though the tangles of anxiety that need to drop away from the vine where we abide together. No matter how I feel, You want me to be open and trusting as You tend to bringing about your blooms of greatest splendor. Amen.
About the Author:
Lynn Severance is a retired elementary classroom teacher. Since 1983, she has lived with vestibular dysfunction: constant dizziness, sessions of vertigo and related side effects of nausea, balance problems, neck and back pain, visual tracking and eye fatigue. She is a breast cancer survivor having gone through surgery and chemotherapy treatments in 1987-88. She lives in Lynnwood, Washington. Do visit her blog at http://lynn-severance.blogspot.com
In what ways has God uplifted you when the drain of your chronic illness has you nearly falling off the “vine” from fatigue or need of care? During such times how do you reach out to God to let him know your heart’s deepest desire is to keep trusting him?
In what ways do you feel that you are in a covenant partnership with God that keeps you flourishing in Him?
Lynn shares this about the song today: “Our times of abiding, despairing, struggling to remain grafted into the Vine safe in God’s care are shared beautifully by this song recorded by Kathy Troccoli. ‘How Would I Know.’ As you listen, remember God’s faithfulness in days past and anticipate that same faithfulness today and all days.”
Dear Lynn, I so appreciate this devotional today! I particularly like your thoughts and prayer, “to rest in Him, so that lifeless wilting worries fall to the ground” while He fortified us with His presence and strength.
Such a great visual especially with the picture of your beautiful plant!
( you’re certainly a good caregiver!)
Thank you for sharing, both your joy of nature and and God’s precious gift of love & insights in your own journey. Holding you in my heart and prayers, Di
Diane – as I type this note to you, I am looking out at that fuschia plant still in bloom though fading slightly as autumn begins to turn into our new season.
And is often the case when our devotionals get posted weeks after submission, I am needing these reminders ever as much as I read them again.
I appreciate your comments as I, too, have had to kick some of the “lifeless wilting worries” to the ground of late and focus on the blooms that are radiating God’s strength.
Continuing prayers for you and yours, my friend, and ever grateful for the gift you are in my life!
xo Lynn
Lynn, I was really struck by the thoughts you shared about “lifeless wilting worries” falling away as we “stay at rest in Him”. Then thinking about how we give life to our worries (well I do!) when I should be letting them fall away – much to ponder. My fuschia is yet to have flowers, but I’ll see them differently now this summer.
You may not always feel bloom-ful, but I’m sure God sees you blooming as you share and enrich our lives, through RM and personally. I’m grateful 🙂
Fiona, I appreciate your comments. I surely do give too much “life” to my worries. When that expression fell out of my fingertips I gasped, for it was a new way of looking at what happens often with my thoughts. I am sure we all want to be the beautiful blooms.
It will be fun when your own plant gets to blooming. I had never had a fuschia plant before so, as I expressed. There were some times I thought it had faded out on me. But it revived as God revives us.
Grateful for you in my life, too – a real bloom!
xo Lynn