The Life Inside
They say, when you live in Texas, if you don’t like the weather, wait a minute. There is no truer statement…really. A week ago, we were prepping for a snow storm, during which we received nearly 4” of the powdery white stuff while shivering in temperatures in the teens and 20’s. Yesterday, I saw a lady riding her bike in shorts and a t-shirt because it was in the 70’s. We have days when the temps in the morning warrant a sweater, but by the afternoon, you’re wishing you’d layered so you could shuck some of those clothes. As crazy as it sounds, I’d take all of that over sub zero temps in the northern states of America.
On our way to church, Dennis and I were discussing the fate of our rubber-leaf plants. They’re so big, we didn’t move them inside, but opted instead to cover them with a tarp. After removing the tarp, the leaves are all brown and droopy and they look so sad. We talked about cutting them back but decided to wait to make sure we’re past all of our potential cold spells.
We originally got the one rubber-leaf plant from a neighbor and he warned us that they will not survive a freeze, so make sure we always bring it in when our “two days of winter” are forecasted. But one year, it dropped below freezing for a couple of days and we weren’t here to move it inside. But instead of putting in out with the trash, I cut it back and babied it, hoping it would live. Much to our surprise, the tree survived! Upon inspection one day, we saw a little sprout of green coming from a branch and knew then it was going to be fine. It thrived the next year, and I was able to take cuttings from it and plant two more trees.
As dead as my rubber trees look, I know there is life inside of them. When I thought of that, it made me realize that before we know Jesus, we look probably look dead too, maybe not literally, like zombies, but without the light and love of Jesus, we are dead. God created us to be light and there is life in all of us, and when we allow Jesus in, we begin to “come back to life,” emerging triumphantly because of His nurturing spirit. I suppose my trees might not survive a northern winter or many freezing days in a row here, but I know that no matter what storm I encounter, the God I serve will always make sure I not only survive, but thrive.