Faithful Friday: I wanna be fruity!

What a revival! 

While our bodies are exhausted from the long (short) week of late nights, our souls are REVIVED!  Over 10 lives were eternally changed over the course of five days, with decisions of salvation.  An innumerable amount of lives were refreshed and hopefully forever changed from the contagious passion of our guest pastor, Steve Ayers.

There were so many nuggets that I could share with you, but one especially impacted me and it'll be my focus for this Faithful Friday.  (I encourage you to check out our podcast to listen to each of the sermons though.)

It was interesting that my exact reading that morning was the scripture of focus for Pastor Steve's sermon. 

The next day as they were leaving Bethany, Jesus was hungry. 

Seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to find out if it had any fruit. When he reached it, he found nothing but leaves, because it was not the season for figs. Then he said to the tree,

“May no one ever eat fruit from you again.” And his disciples heard him say it.  - Mark 11:12-14

I've never eaten a fig, that I remember, and I didn't really know anything about a fig tree until that morning.  When I'd read the scripture earlier, for a moment I thought, "Gee, that was harsh."  It wasn't until later when I learned that Jesus cursed the tree due to the fact that it had all the outward signs of bearing fruit, from the fullness of leaves, but was a hypocrite because it had none.  And truly, if we aren't serving a purpose, what good are we?
 
Fig trees aren't the prettiest, they're knotty and don't play well with others.  The roots are greedy, spreading beyond the tree, often choking out other vegetation.  But those that mature and bear fruit, provide one of the most sustainable sources of food.  Figs are low in calories but high in fiber, anti-oxidants and minerals.  Even an ugly tree can fulfill its purpose when it does what God planned it to do.

I couldn't help but sit there during the sermon and compare my life to that of a fig tree.  Yes, I've had lots of ugly.  And I've had my share of looking like everything was together when it was anything but.  While I'm blessed to say I'm in the stage of life that is bearing fruit, I know that daily I need some pruning. 

I want my tree to be used up at the end of my life, to have born all the fruit I could possibly bear.  And to know that my tree was always used for God's glory, never my own.

Less leaves, more fruit. 

That's my earnest prayer...

It's a Wonderful Life

Last night, after the wee morning wake-up, day long feast, crafts, and celebratory chaos, we settled into our living room by the fire to relax.  Though it was only 6 pm, I could've easily went on to bed.  In fact, I'm quite sure Tim caught a few z's on the love seat in between our conversations.  The kiddos were happily sorting through their holiday stash, giggling and content with the day's events. 

After a few shows on HGTV, I scrolled through our list of recorded movies.  Several of the classics appeared but I was a little dismayed to find that all of them were over two hours long.  I wasn't sure my tired old body could hang on that long.  Something kept taking my remote to "It's a Wonderful Life" though, and although the info showed it to be three hours, I clicked play. 

Tim, snoozing, awoke to black and white on the screen.  Curious, he sat up a bit and began to watch with me.  Before long, both kids were on the floor, intrigued by the old look of the film.  Half an hour in and we were all hooked, engaged in the story of struggling man who's life never seemed to go the way he envisioned.

George reminded me very much of my husband, Tim.  A simple man who earnestly wanted to help people - just because.  But a man who dreamed of more for his family.  A man who struggled, questioned, sought for answers.  In fact, I think most anyone could relate to George's life.  Especially the moments in time that bring you to your knees, those moments that make you wonder why you're here.  What you're worth.

"Each man's life touches so many other lives."

The movie was a beautiful journey, full of laughter and tears, much like life.  And such a wonderful message, at a time of year we all are reminded of the precious gift that life is.   God showed us that with the birth of his son, the story so many of us reflected on yesterday and throughout this season.  But he also shows this with each of us.  No matter how meager our beginning, how difficult the path, we all have a purpose. Whether we're here for a brief visit, or are gifted with a long life on this earth, God's plan hopes for a Happily Ever After for all of us.

"Wonderful! Wonderful! Wonderful! How could it be anything else?"