The Plumbline

Those who plant in tears will harvest with shouts of joy. They weep as they go to plant their seed, but they sing as they return with the harvest. (Psalm 126:5-6) Planting isn't always 'productive' right away, is it? I know I have planted seeds, watching for some sign that there will be growth imminent from within the soil, waiting for what seems like an eternity. Finally, when growth begins to appear, is the harvest immediate? Nope, you have to watch as that plant puts on more leaves, grows taller and becomes stronger. Soon blossoms will come, but still no harvest. If the conditions are right, those blooms will turn to fruit - either in the form of beautiful flowers or things that will eventually nourish our bodies. In the passage of time, the harvest becomes plentiful. In the meantime, there is a whole lot of faithfulness required to 'tend' that garden. In much the same way, God's seeds aren't going to always produce an immediate harvest - they must be ...

Year's end is neither an end nor a beginning but a going on, with all the wisdom that experience can instill in us. (Hal Borland) With just a few short days left in this year, I wanted to take a moment to reflect over the past couple of very challenging years. This pandemic has been astronomically difficult for a great many - losses abounding all around us. Families have lost loved ones - homes emptied of fathers, mothers, siblings - never to be quite the same again. Lives have been changed as bodies may have 'recovered' per medical standards, but the tell-tale signs of this awful disease linger on in the core of their being. Social gatherings have been curtailed, scaled-down, or not held at all - leaving many lonely, fearful, and without support. Masks have become a permanent part of the wardrobe of many - covering over smiles, hiding fear, and leaving us wondering what a person really looks like underneath it all. As we ponder the passing of these two very challenging yea...

Did you ever stop to think the New Year is just a time where we enter into a space and place where new chapters will be written? Some of us are so "down" on ourselves because of some the chapters we have allowed to be written into our lives this year we cannot see beyond those chapters. The story isn't over - so there are more chapters to be written! That affords us a "change of venue" for the writing of the next! 13 O God, your ways are holy. Where is there any other as mighty as you? 14 You are the God of miracles and wonders! You still demonstrate your awesome power. 19 Your road led by a pathway through the sea—a pathway no one knew was there! (Psalm 77:13-14, 19 TLB) God still stands ready to demonstrate his awesome power in our lives. We don't have to fear he has left us without any "re-writes". In fact, he may "edit" those chapters completely so they no longer have any bearing on the story that will be forthcoming! After all.....