This vine in my backyard has become my teacher. It’s a passion flower vine with a beautiful
purple blossom, yet it’s the way its tendrils reach out that has me intrigued. Like human arms, these thin, green strands extend toward the
nearest slat of the fence, illustrating a
treasured lesson of faith. My husband
crisscrossed some string at the corner of the yard to serve as a trellis,
and with remarkable grasp, these tendrils have spun around it fast and snug. Seeming to travel whole inches
in a day, they’ve caused me to wonder, “If I stared for an hour, would I witness
the tendrils actually in motion?” Then
too, their strength intrigues me, for when heavy rain poured a
few weeks ago, this vine didn’t budge. Not
one tendril unleashed from any string or any slat of the fence, and quickly I
questioned, “What if I clung to the Lord like these tendrils cling? What if I held so closely to the Lord that no
storm, no temptation of any size could set me asunder?” In John 15:5, Jesus says, “I am the vine; you
are the branches. If a man remains in me
and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” I’m reminded of limitless spiritual opportunity that comes with clinging to the Lord. He is our absolute sustenance. Again this morning I eagerly visited our
vine, noticing many buds soon to blossom. Yet
it’s the tenacity of the tendrils that sets the array of these purple beauties.
