God Moment - Judy McManus - April 8, 2020
Staying home, doing more around the house and in the yard, I’m starting to tackle projects that I’ve let go for years.
The hydrangeas and the raspberries were what I chose to attack most recently. They had spread and grown together into a wild tangle. The raspberries especially had really spread out. Last year we had so many berries that we are still enjoying cobblers from berries we froze. The vines had filled and area so large that the berries in the center could not be reached.
New growth was coming out already so I was a little fearful of deep pruning because I’m kind of new at raspberry farming, but it seemed like the only way. I dug the small rooted vines form the perimeter of the patch and pulled them out of the hydrangea, which I also pruned severely. Making my way to the center of the patch, clearing away the dead wood, I found that the original vine I had planed was dead.
This was a wild raspberry vine that we dug up at the Community of the Cross on the day we buried our son Bryan’s ashes. So much healthy, abundant growth is connected to that dead vine. And it made me think: there is so much healthy growth in believers whose lives Bryan had touched. I’m not just talking about myself or his dad, though he definitely brought us closer to Christ. And I’m not just talking about his children either, though they are lovely and being raised to know who Christ is. He touched so many lives with his Christ-like attitude, some I know and many I probably don’t. It continues even though he’s been gone for years with a scholarship set up in his name to help college you attend a PRMI training course, connected to Upward Challenge. Where these young people come for a closer walk with Jesus.
And as for the deep pruning, it is necessary sometimes. It almost feels like a metaphor for the way this pandemic has cut us off, trimmed us back.
This is one of the God moments staying home and having more time helped me see. As I stay home and stay turned toward Him, I know there will be much much more from my Father who loves me. He loves you too.