I noticed this leaf suspended by a slender strand of the only remnant of a cob web, gently swaying in the breeze yesterday during the mid day walk. It was suspended from the branch of another tree. It gripped my attention and made me stop and ponder.
There was an interruption to the life of that leaf, because of which, before it was fully dry, it got severed from a branch. It was an event which could have landed the leaf on the ground or blown away by the wind. Once the leaf got separated from the branch, it had no control over its future.
In the process of falling, it got held by the only left over strand of a cob web. It looks as if the spider was sent to make a web at that place, where this prematurely separated leaf was about to fall! Even when it suffered a loss by no reason of its own, the leaf was not left to suffer the grief!
Being held by a web strand, it is dancing in the wind announcing a mystery!
We live in God's universe, whose 'government is upon His shoulder'. In the midst of all the natural events that take place in our lives, there is a hope that holds us firm.
The writer of the Psalm 139, David, expressed this profoundly. "If I ascend to haven, Thou art there; If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, Thou art there. If I take the wings of the dawn, If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea, Even there Thy hand will lead me, and Thy right had will lay hold of me"(Vs. 8-10). David's meditation on this theme is captivating, as he communicates a new vision of God as expressed in verse 12: "Even the darkness is not dark to Thee, And the night is bright as the day. Darkness and light are alike to Thee".
This alludes to a reality that whether we go through easy or difficult times in our lives, they are both alike, in terms of their purpose as intended by God. Those experiences are like the different coloured strands in a mosaic. They are woven together by God of love, who invites us to see ourselves as: 'I am fearfully and wonderfully made'.
I am convalescing after a major surgery six weeks back. The sight of the leaf in this photograph, suspended firmly from a live branch of another plant, brought a new understanding of my own situation. God grants one more opportunity in life to live fully and freely. Some may think, that the strand that holds the leaf is fragile and intangible, but with God, even a slender strand has inherent strength.
The good news is that, we are free to live, learn and serve, freed from the anxiety of daily living. Often an unexpected event leads us to enter into yet another plane of the mystery of this life and God.
M.C.Mathew(text and photo)
No comments:
Post a Comment