Beyond the stress and loss!

The first photo above is how the Rambutan tree looked in early April this year, when the tree blossomed with fruits in plenty!

The second and third photos are of today, when the ripening Rambutans are only half of the ones seen in the tree in April. 

We had an extremely hot and humid month of May with unexpected showers almost every evening from the second week of May. The extreme climatic conditions in the day with the opposite in the evenings did not suit the tree. I remember we gathered two basketful of fallen raw Rambutan almost every day for about five days. 

Following that the day temperature remained moderate with respite from rain for a week.  During the third week of May there was heavy rainfall for five days during which more unriped fruits were found falling!

These yellow Rambutan fruits have a different flavour from the red ones. 

We did not lose so many of the red rambutan raw fruits. 

The trees felt the stress of the hostile climate and could not adapt enough to protect their fruits. 

This was a major loss to those who have gardens of Rambutan and depend on the income from the fruits annually to live on. By the time agricultural scientists came up with the proposal to give potassium supplementation, the loss was already huge. 

Each of us responds to stress in different ways. Our resilient level is variable. 

The experience of losing rambutan fruits occurred at a time, when I have been dwelling on the theme of resilience. 

We encounter some loss during our living ! We can be held back with grief or we can grow in strength while enduring difficult times. 

The fragile spider lily above withstands wind and rain. 

Its strength is in itself even though it looks fragile and vulnerable. 

The strength from within is what enables us to move beyond our losses! 

I found a verse from the book of Psalms in chapter 131, helpful to process these thoughts: ' Surely I have composed and quieted my soul; like a weaned child rests against his mother' (V 2).

A well fed child rests on his mother's chest!

That is the secret of growing in inner strength! 

Finding strength in the Strength giving God!  

M.C.Mathew(text and photo)