The Detail

Don took away the broken picket fence that divided vegetable patch from grass and flowers. The acer tree which has grown there for thirty-five years can now be appreciated from my bedroom window, and when I rise each morning, I look out and am astonished at its beauty, particularly at that time of day. The light sits gently, subtly, on the sides of the branches and twigs facing eastwards. It’s not spectacular or breath-taking, and yet I am blessed by the beauty of this detail. Every morning I pause and gaze, and am blessed by this detail.

I always thought the acer was an expensive tree because of its glorious show of reds in the autumn, when the leaves blaze forth before dropping. But now, as I look at its still-bare branches, I appreciate the grace of slender branches as they reach upwards, bending here and there only slightly, twisting occasionally in a sort of arboreal dance. Because we rarely prune, there are many branches, intertwining and resting on one another. I am loving the beauty of the bare branches, and am blessed as I gaze. I am blessed by this detail.

Soon there will be leaves. Leaves which will obscure these exquisite branches, I suppose, but I anticipate that I may appreciate a new revelation of another kind of beauty. I will be blessed by a new detail.

‘I have loved you with an everlasting love,’ God declares to us. That is incredible. That he says it to each one of us individually, wherever we are, whatever our history.

Just as the picket fence obscured my view of the acer tree, so my sin obscures my view of God. I am so grateful that Jesus’ redemption has made me dead to sin, so that as he helps me tear down the picket fence of negative and critical thoughts, of perverse and selfish attitudes and ideas, of fear and doubt, my eyes can more clearly discern the beauty of the Lord. I am blessed by the detail.

At some times, I appreciate the light he shines on me and my circumstances. At other times, I appreciate the stark beauty of his sacrifice and love. Still again at other times, I anticipate that I will appreciate the poignancy of his compassion and the agony of his often unrequited love for the world.

As humanity writhes with the pain of pandemic, the confusion of how to combat the virus and how to keep people safe, the moral dilemmas presented by lock-down, may God help us take down the picket fence of sin so that as we stand in confident hope and assurance of a bright future, increasing numbers of the lost and the frightened can see the reason for our hope, can see who stands with us, and why, in the end, there is no need to fear.

In this world, Jesus said, you will have trouble. But take heart, for I have overcome the world.

May the eyes of all be open to this glorious detail.