Vines and Branches

"I am the vine; you are the branches" JN 15:5

Up the road from where I live is a home for sale. It’s been on the market for years with no one living there and it’s beginning to show. Behind the house is a small terrace with a pergola to provide shade and intimacy. The thick vines climb the structure, and branches create a canopy across the top. At least they did once. The years of neglect are showing.

As thick as the vines, as plentiful as the branches, I sensed trouble as I walked by. The leaves were turning brown and beginning to curl. Like the weed-infested garden and chipped painted shutters, the neglect was beginning to show.

I continued on my way and remembered why I went for a walk. Having been away for a series of trips, I was feeling spiritually disconnected. It had been weeks since I had begun my day with my usual routine of coffee and meditation, and going to church was beginning to seem like a distant memory. I wanted to reconnect with my soul. I wanted to listen for God.

Instead, I saw a terrace with a withering canopy. It took me a while to realize that maybe that was what I needed to see, that was what I needed to hear.