Clematis

 

The clematis outside the dining room is leafing out; the rose climbing up on the other side of the window is beginning to stretch upwards again. Both outgrew their vertical supports a couple of years ago, and every year, other priorities have side-lined the need to provide an upper trellis. The plants have drooped forlornly as a result.

Over the weekend, Don and Doug bolted a horizontal trellis above the windows to carry the profusion of growth. This year, there will be no gloom in the dining room because of branches hanging limp and unsupported.

We are never so spiritually mature that we have no need for divine support. We get into trouble when we move ahead prayerlessly, confident in our own abilities and insights. I don’t want to live a life like a hanging stem, blown here and there by every breath of wind. I don’t want to throw others into shadows of doubt because I am freewheeling and unsupported by my Father. I don’t want my faith to grow weak because I have arrogantly presumed I know what the Bible says or, even worse, I know what God thinks about this or that.

This day, Lord … every day … may I approach the throne of grace with humility and clear-eyed vision of my own limitations, and trust in you to guide and lead me through the highways and byways of my life.