season of singing

"Flowers appear on the earth;

the season of singing has come"

-Song of Songs 2:12

When Annie and i decided to search Houston for bluebonnets over Easter weekend, our first attempt failed but we ended up on a short, Narnia-like path into a huge field surrounded by trees. For two 19-year-old girls, this blanket of purple flowers in the late-afternoon sun was quite a treasure. They weren't bluebonnets, but we decided to pause our search anyway. Annie loves flowers, i love photography, and we both love pita chips so naturally we had a picnic and photo shoot. The best part was the conversation we shared. In this place where the Wind was the only movement, we were able to be still. And in a moment of simple brilliance as she carried around her purple, yellow and white bouquet, Annie said, "it's crazy how fast they wilt when they're cut off from their source of life." And we looked at each other and realized the unintentional depth of her statement. In John 15, Jesus tells it how it is.

"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 

He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, 

while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes 

so that it will be even more fruitful...

Remain in me, and I will remain in you...

If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; 

apart from me you can do nothing."

Annie plucked those flowers from their life source and we watched them wither in no time. It reminds me of how thankful i am for the gift of Jesus from our Father. Through Him we have life, something that's been drilled into me forever but i heard differently this Easter season. It's easy to fall under the delusion that we can do it alone, but He's in control and every good and perfect gift is from above (James 1:17) so us taking credit for our accomplishments is just silly. Together God and i can do anything so i choose to remain in Him and let Him prune [trim; shape] me to become the best version of myself.

"For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. For, 'All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands forever.'" - 1 Peter 1:23-25

We can be connected to the Vine or we can try to do life on our own.

 Today, right now, we are living or we are dying. 

It's our choice, and the season of singing has come.

{two days later we found our bluebonnets}