Finding God's Presence ~ The Parable of the Pregnant Sugar Maple

by Nan Jones  @NanJonesAuthor

The sugar maple stood strong in brilliant glory. Colors of crimson, tangerine, and golden amber graced her branches, reflecting the beauty of her Creator against a periwinkle sky. Out of the north, periwinkle turned to slate and crept across the sky until the sugar maple stood in shadows of darkness. Her colors dimmed. Her reflective light extinguished. Howling winds ripped through her branches of glory. Sheets of rain sliced through her delicate leaves like razors, sending them tumbling to autumn's ground.

Strong winds moved the storm away, leaving the sugar maple with branches bare. Naked. Exposed. Colors of crimson, tangerine and golden amber lay at her feet in puddles of heaven's tears. Her beautiful leaves soon dimmed to brown, becoming brittle and torn. They no longer reflected the Creator's glory, but instead crackled beneath strangers' feet.

But even though her brilliant glory had dimmed and her colorful leaves lay dying, her Creator God would use the power of the storm to strengthen and sustain the sugar maple because...

She was pregnant with the purposes of God and spring would come.

     "Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God’s Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don’t know how or what to pray, it doesn’t matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good." ~ Romans 8:26-28, The Message

A blanket of broken, dying leaves covered her roots, cushioning them, warming them against the impending winter. Heaven's tender tears kept them moist. The blanket of brokenness nourished the roots and prepared the maple for spring - for new life, new beginnings and reflective beauty of God's grace and glory once more. 

SELAH 

Tweetables to Encourage Others

THE PARABLE OF THE PREGNANT SUGAR MAPLE. Hmmmm.....@NanJonesAuthor offers food for thought. (Click to Tweet)

How do we know this too shall pass? @NanJonesAuthor has an idea. (Click to Tweet)



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