It is is now three weeks since this plant was transplanted into a pot when a new building construction got started in its earlier site.
The photo below is how this plant looked on the third day of its transplant.
According to the gardener, the plant might revive although all the current leaves would be lost.
Some fresh green leaves in the first photo might indicate that possibility.
Whatever it might be, a plant suffered and is through a threatening experience.
Does it not remind us of some experiences in our lives which consumed us in pain and distress! Some of us were carried through those experiences and some others suffered and are yet to recover from the loss and agony of those experiences.
The story of our lives would have taken a new course through the personal loss and deprivation we faced on such occasions, which threatened our wellness and damaged our mission.
What we are told in the account of the burning bush which was not consumed by the fire that Moses witnessed is worth remembering on such occasions. He watched the bush in fire, but saw it unaffected by the fire. It was a scene when an angel appeared to Moses in the burning of the bush. Moses said to himself, 'I must turn aside now, and see this marvellous sight, why the bush is not burned up (Exodus 3:3). The next verse in that passage is a turning point in the life of Moses. 'When the Lord saw that Moses turned aside to loo, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, 'Moses'.. And he said, 'Here I am' (v4).
The three sequences in this narration held my attention last week while I was facing the most difficult experience at my work place. Moses noticed a spectacular sight. He turned aside to look. When engaged in reasoning out the scene, he heard a voice calling his name at least twice.
I experienced something traumatic and distressing that shook and devastated me in the recent weeks. It called for a pause and view the happenings from a distance without being drowned in the pain of the experiences.
When 'Moses turned aside to look', what he heard was a voice and an invitation to listen!
When drowned in pain and overwhelmed by the stress of having to reason out the events, listening becomes difficult. But listening saved Moses from the fear and mystery of that event. It was his listening orientation which led him to hear the voice of God calling him.
Although I am still in a state of shock and surprise, I feel the wisdom of 'looking aside' and not staying preoccupied by the attempting to be reasoning while faced with a shocking experience.
It was when Moses stopped to hear the voice of the One calling, he heard further, 'Do not come near here, remove your sandals from your feet, for the place on which you are standing is holy ground'(v5). It was following this, God revealed revealed Himself to Moses, 'I am God of your father, the God of Abraham..' Then Moses hid his face for he was afraid to look at God'(v6).
Yes the difficulties and stresses we are called to face is the very scene, where God is present. Instead of wanting to demystify or make sense of the events that preceded which led us to the painful experience, await to get a glimpse of what shall follow on. The setting in which the besieging experiences took place was a holy place. It is prudent to move aside and not stay justifying or fact finding or faulting others, but to await the purpose hidden in that experience. It is through a shock or surprise or a mystery God can get our attention when we live preoccupied or entangled.
Moses responded by dropping all his questions of reason such as 'why the bush is not burned up'! What followed was a new mission and direction in his life. It was out of this unusual experience, Moses received the call to do all that he did in leading the pilgrim people from the captivity of Egyptians (Exodus 3:10-21)
The fact that the bush that I presented in pictures above got uprooted, transplanted and dried up happened around the same time when I was facing a desolating experience.
Seeing this bush in the morning and evening near the car park made me pause, remain silent about the events and direct my attention to the larger meaning that shall become evident in due course.
All of us are conversational by habit. I am sometimes in hurry to talk to someone about my story of difficulties. I fell in to that snare couple of times during the last week. But sacred things which happen in holy ground are not for conversation or discussion. God stays hidden in such experiences and staying silent and steadfast in hope is the way forward. Mary treasured up what she heard about the birth of Jesus and pondering them in her heart (Luke2:19).
The green leaves in a dried bush is a mystery of some significance! I shall wait to listen and discern!
M.C.Mathew(text and photo)
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