God, make a fresh start in me, shape a Genesis week from the chaos of my life. Don’t throw me out with the trash, or fail to breathe holiness in me. Bring me back from gray exile, put a fresh wind in my sails! [Psalm 51:10-12 (MSG)]
Earlier this year, upon seeing the browning and nearly naked cypress trees at the bird sanctuary, the visitor asked if Hurricane Irma had killed them. I explained that the bald and pond cypress weren’t dead, just dormant. Being deciduous, they shed their leaves annually and were just enjoying a much needed rest during the shorter days and dryer conditions of winter. I reassured her that, in a month or so, their bright green needles would return and new growth would sprout from their branches. Today, the forest is verdant throughout the swamp.
While it is possible to force trees to evade dormancy by keeping them inside and controlling the light, temperature and water conditions, it would greatly shorten the plant’s lifespan; they’re not meant to leaf and branch continually. Dormancy is vital for the survival of deciduous trees and the way they withstand unfavorable growing conditions. When better conditions return, the trees wake up and start to bud and blossom again.
While dormancy is good for trees, dormancy is not usually considered a good thing when applied to Christians. A study in Great Britain found that 55 percent of those who identify themselves as Christian never read the Bible, 29 percent never pray, and a third of them don’t even attend church; it called these people “dormant Christians.” When God’s word isn’t growing in our hearts or we fail to bear the Fruit of the Spirit, some people say we’re in “spiritual dormancy.” Superficial, uncommitted, wilting or dying faith like this seems more a case of failure to thrive than dormancy. Just because growth isn’t obvious when a tree is dormant doesn’t mean nothing is happening. Dormancy is when the tree gathers strength, prepares for leafing and branching, and is the best time for pruning in preparation for new growth!
I’ve seen too many people lose their zeal for Christ because they haven’t taken a rest from their busyness for Him to spend time abiding in Him. It’s often when they’ve forgotten to spend time in His rest that their spiritual lives go dead. Sometimes, like trees, we need to retreat into dormancy to rest, do some pruning, and prepare ourselves to take our next steps in God’s ministry. Even Jesus took time away from His ministry for prayer and guidance.
During these next few months, my husband and I will be travelling a great deal. While I remain committed to prayer, worship, study, and journaling, there will be times when writing and posting will be difficult, if not impossible. Last year, I solved this problem with some “summer re-runs.” Knowing how refreshed and enthusiastic I felt upon my return to writing, I think dormancy is a far better term. So, like the cypress trees that go dormant in adverse conditions, I will take a break when circumstances are not conducive to writing. Unlike the trees, however, I won’t change color or shed my needles in preparation for dormancy. Instead, I’ve selected a few old devotions to repost and, with over 1,500 devotions from the last four years, I have plenty from which to choose. Throughout the next few months, they will be scattered in among new ones. So, if you see a devotion you’ve read before, don’t worry; I’m not dead, I’ve just gone dormant!
When Hurricane Irma uprooted trees here last September, the underground irrigation pipes throughout our 1,800 home community were wrenched out of the soil and the lines ruptured. Trees and stumps had to be removed before the process of finding and fixing the leaks could begin and we went more than seven months without irrigation. What with winter and spring’s hotter than average temperatures, receiving about half of our average rainfall since November, and no working irrigation system in our community, the once lush green grass became dry and brown, the flowers wilted, and the parched soil got hard. The only things that seemed to thrive were the weeds! Fortunately, the repairs were completed last week, the summer rain eventually will arrive, and our grass, shrubbery and trees will recover.
While talking with a friend, I mentioned how many people of our generation seem unprepared for the challenges of widowhood. Having relinquished certain responsibilities to their spouses during the decades of marriage, they’re ill-equipped when they lose that spouse. There are men who have no idea how to do laundry, grocery shop, clean the bathroom or use the microwave. On the other hand, many of my women friends have never done minor repairs, paid bills, made an investment or purchased a car. “That was me!” replied my friend whose husband died of cancer. His death, while unwelcome, was not unexpected so I asked why they hadn’t prepared her for widowhood. “He tried to,” she said, “but I wouldn’t listen.” As long as they didn’t talk about his imminent passing and her future life without him, she still could deny its reality.
Seasoned travelers know the worst place to exchange their money is at the airport. With no easy option to get local currency, the unsuspecting tourist gets the worst exchange rates at the highest fees. Seasoned travelers also don’t buy suntan lotion or Dramamine onboard the cruise ship or a face mask and goggles at the ski shop on top of the mountain. Knowing their customers are desperate for their products, those shops tend to gouge them with inflated prices.
Imagine the anguish of the woman with the blood disorder. Because Levitical law declared that anyone who touched her would be considered unclean, she’d been cut off from friends and family for twelve years. Sexual union would defile her husband so she couldn’t marry and, if she’d been married, her husband would have divorced her. Because her defilement would spread to anything she touched (be it food, cups or cushions), she was isolated in her own home. While the anemia, pain, stress, and public humiliation she endured because of her disorder must have been awful, perhaps the agony of being a pariah and unable to physically connect with people was even worse. It was her responsibility to make sure she didn’t defile others by touching them so she shouldn’t have been anywhere near a crowd. She certainly shouldn’t have touched a man (or his clothing) and could have been severely punished for her previously action. No wonder she tried to sneak unnoticed through the crowd to touch Jesus’ robe.
In a recent Doonesbury comic (written by Garry Trudeau), a pastor is explaining to the congregation what constitutes sin in the eyes of their church. The elders now will condone conduct such as, “lewdness, vulgarity, profanity, adultery, and sexual assault,” and exemptions from Christian values include, “greed, bullying, conspiring, boasting, lying, cheating, sloth, envy, wrath, gluttony and pride.” In addition, the church will overlook such things as, ”Biblical illiteracy, church non-attendance, and no credible sign of faith.” After the service, one church member says, “Lovin’ the lower bar, Pastor!” while another adds, “I feel like a freakin’ saint now!” Trudeau’s comic may be satire but it is closer to the truth than I care to admit.
Devotions of the Heart 