I was going to post something else
for today 's Sunday Blessings entry, but I
just read this story by Joni Eareckson Tada
which spoke to my present situation
and I have to share it with my readers.
I am in a lot of pain after my fall.
Its scary because I' ve not been in such
a lot of pain since a long time.
But this trial will bear fruit.
It will teach me to pray harder and
lean more heavily on the Lord.
Today was a busy day.
After church I helped another
church group set up for their service.
They will begin worshipping in our
sanctuary from next Sunday.
They were moving in a lot
of their stuff to be stored here.
I got so late that I did not have time time
to cook lunch .
I was going to, but Ma and Auntie
insisted that we have yesterday 's left-overs
as I was tired.
Last night we were invited to a nephew 's
birthday dinner.
That was very nice.
6 year old Yash with Grannies
He wanted an animal cake.
We had two and half days of non stop rain.
It has brought the temperature down,
but everything is damp and soggy.
Commuting is difficult.
I' ve got good news.
Aunt Maya has found a suitable flat and
she will be moving into it in a few days.
We are so happy, its an answer to
prayer. This house was promised to her
but there was some delay.
Please pray for my healing.
Fruit Comes Through Struggle
"This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be
my disciples." --John 15:
Last week Ken and I visited Tim, a friend from church, who grows several rare varieties
of grapes on the hillside behind his house. I was surprised that Tim had planted
his vines along a steep and rocky portion of the hill. "Why didn't you plant the
vines at the base of the hill?" I asked him. "The soil certainly looks a lot better-and
there's more sun."
Tim smiled. "There's a rule you need to remember when it comes to growing these
special varieties of grapes," he said. "When you feed them luxuriously with lots
of nutrients and fertilizer, the vine produces a profuse bush of leaves and cane.
But the fruit it grows is sparse and very poor. Oh make no mistake," he laughed.
"The plant loves lots of fertilizer. But it invests all those nutrients into growing
lush, dark, beautiful leaves. And when the vine has finished doing that, it has
very little energy left to produce fruit. It certainly looks like a beautiful vine.
But that's it. It just looks good."
How, then, do you get good grapes? As Tim explained it, you have to make sure the
grapevine struggles! You plant it in rocky, flinty soil, or you girdle the vine
by wrapping wires around the cordons, forcing the plant to struggle as it tries
to draw nutrients from its roots. This causes the distressed vine to divert most
all of its prized and hard-won nutrients into the fruit, instead of the leaves.
The result of these trials and tribulations is the sweetest fruit possible.
So... maybe the rocky soil and steep inclines in your life aren't so bad after all.
The trials and struggles, disappointments and setbacks you face, this "girdling"
that presses you in from all sides... is a bruising of blessing. And you won't
bear a crop without it.
Lord, when this life is all over and I stand before you, I want you to find sweet
fruit in my life... and not just leaves.
Blessings,
Joni and Friends
