One Tiny Branch

I jumped the gun this year. I bought hanging baskets and bedding plants a couple of weeks before I was supposed to. Our weather reminds me of that – yesterday’s hard wind and today’s cooler temps. I think we’re safe though, far from my sweet Virginia friends who are expecting snow this Sunday.

When we bought the house, we fell in love with the smallish live oak that had been planted in the back corner of our yard. It was our little piece of real South Carolina. We’ve been amazed at how quickly it has grown. The shade it produces gets us through the summer. My oasis from the heat, it shelters a pretty flower garden and bench. It was strategically planted so that the sun sets behind it and we get relief from the late afternoon summer glare. I captured some Spanish moss that had been set free by some landscapers and now it truly is our reminder of where we live.

Our oak is a beautiful, dignified and impressive tree. Yet as I sit on my porch this morning looking out, my eye is continually drawn to a place close to the trunk about three feet from the ground. There hangs a beautiful impatiens basket filled with fuchsia, pale pink and white. I suspended it from a small branch yesterday and it has completely stolen my attention from the tree.

As so often happens, lately the devotionals I read, the sermons I hear, books, Sunday school lessons and Bible study all tend to repeat messages about being a part of the vine, pruning, deep roots down into water, having sustenance during drought, etc. And as almost always happens, I notice the trend and begin looking for some great plan that God has for my life pertaining to what I’ve heard. I’m getting the idea that He just wants me to get the point!

As He sometimes does, this morning He’s used my quiet porch time to do that. Although the oak is impressive and some of its branches are sturdy and strong, the one little branch that’s doing the work of holding my basket is the one that’s blessing me these days. It’s the branch that’s bearing fruit.

Do you sometimes wish you were doing something grand and inspirational? Do you wonder if anyone’s noticing or if you’re invisible? Know that fixing a taco salad, making sure there’s clean underwear, driving kids to any of the assortment of things they have to attend, just loving someone with a hug or a smile – these things are a bouquet of beauty to someone. I’m resisting going down a “bloom where you’re planted” road, but it’s true, isn’t it? God’s will for our lives usually involves doing the next chore, making the next phone call, wiping the next nose and doing it with a cheerful heart. You are showing Jesus' love in the little things. You are somebody’s fruit basket!

John 15:16, 17
You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. This is my command: Love each other.