The Plumbline

“A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. A tree is identified by its fruit. Figs are never gathered from thornbushes, and grapes are not picked from bramble bushes. A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. What you say flows from what is in your heart." (Luke 6:43-45) In case you were wondering, figs are not grown on bramble bushes. The fruit we produce is equal to the 'tree' that produces it. Character is a result of what we 'connect' our lives to on an ongoing basis. The fig cannot connect with the bramble bush any more than the thorns of the bramble bush can be produced from the fig tree. The connection wouldn't be consistent with what is being produced. The fruit born actually is a direct reflection of the tree - the nature of the tree produces the fruit. When our 'fruit' is a little bitter, kind of 'pric...

Loneliness is proof that your innate search for connection is intact. (Martha Beck) We all search for connection - some of us just don't want to admit it. We want to relate to others, but the effort takes us by surprise, and we just don't want to go that far at times. We settle for being lonely, walking without companionship or support. I have to ask - how well are you doing with that? God knows we will face fears along the way, and those fears will seem to be a little too daunting at times, but he never expected we'd face them alone.  So don’t worry, because I am with you. Don’t be afraid, because I am your God. I will make you strong and will help you; I will support you with my right hand that saves you. (Isaiah 41:10-11) If you are 'with' me, I usually know you are there, even when you aren't immediately by my side. You could be at your own home, and I would still know there is a connection we have made acting as a support to me as I go through whatever it i...

I will admit to being homesick on more than one occasion, but nothing hit me quite as hard as that first week of Basic Training when I went into the US Army. Those first seven days away from home were torture to my psyche! I had been to Girl Scout Camp for two weeks and been a little 'lonely' for mom and dad, but somehow it just did not affect me quite like being at Boot Camp! Maybe it was because I knew there was an end to Girl Scout camp, but there was no hope of going home from Boot Camp! Those feelings we have internally when we experience homesickness are almost hard to explain, but there is an intense longing to just be safe again. To be home includes that idea of safety (at least for me) and security - - there is just something about being surrounded by what is familiar that gives us that sense of peace, security, and even a little bit of sanity. I'm homesick—longing for your salvation; I'm waiting for your word of hope. My eyes grow heavy watching for some sign...