Searching for Signs of Life
A month ago Eric and I, like millions of others, prepared for a snowstorm that came with the possibility of ice. In 2009 our family was living in Arkansas when a storm brought .25” of ice, causing us to lose electricity for 2 weeks. Since then, we don’t take the threat of ice lightly. As we watched this storm move in, Eric decided we needed to prepare to temporarily move into a cabin at camp which has a gas fireplace. We packed up clothes, food, water, and of course several books.
We also decided to take over our houseplants. We loaded them all into plastic storage tubs and placed them in the truck. All of them except for the really large plant that was too tall to place inside the cab. After some debate, we decided it would be best if we set it in the bed of the truck. It would be fine, we thought. The drive across the hay field isn’t that far. We were wrong.
The same plant that two weeks earlier l
ooked like this…
Now looked like this.
The plant was outside in the cold long enough to kill off all of its leaves. The once spidery-long branches dried up and broke off. Although I kept telling Eric it wasn’t dead, it sure looked dead.
But, I couldn’t just toss the plant out. I firmly believed there was a chance the plant could still be alive. I confidently told Eric that if we placed it under a grow light and kept it well watered, we would be see it come back. He agreed, mostly just to amuse me.
So, we waited. For three weeks. Every morning the grow light switched on, and every night it switched off. Each time I walked past it, I looked for signs that I wasn’t foolishly hoping. I bent the end of branches often to see if any more needed to be removed. I gently bent others to check if any were still alive.
And I waited some more.
Then on February 27 (our youngest’s birthday, by the way), one month after looking like it was down for the count, the plant proved that it wasn’t finished.
There, among the branches, were small signs of life.
I shared the exciting news with our children (who didn’t seem nearly as excited as I was), and then I sat down and thought about how much like life this whole experience has been.
One day we are living life like always. What is, feels like what it will always be. Until something happens and our world falls apart. Someone we love dies. We lose our job. Our broken world causes us to grieve. The joy and promise of life gets turned toward loneliness, grief, and barrenness.
Then, something or someone comes along and we are given a reason to hope again. It may not be much more than little shoots on a branch, but it’s enough hope to keep us going. We dare to believe and trust that today’s story is not all there is. We understand that rainbow and unicorns aren’t going to start dancing all around us. But we don’t need them. We only need a reason to keep going on.
I tried to find a Bible verse that I could put in here, but I couldn’t find one. Oh, the there are plenty of verses about holding on and not giving up. The Bible is full of people just like you and me who struggle and grieve- with family dynamics and trauma, the death of dreams and future security, the death of family members and close friends, the loss of mental and physical abilities, betrayals, loss of faith. The list goes on and on. Each time, God shows up and proves that he will never leave his people alone or abandoned.
God always offers small signs of life to remind us that this is not all there is.
My prayer and hope for each of you is that whatever loss and grief you are living with, you will find small signs of life and hope that will encourage you to keep going. Scripture is clear that there is nowhere we can ever go, nothing we will ever do, and nothing that will ever happen to us that will ever keep God from loving us and holding us tight. May you find comfort in this today.
Peace,
Denise
