Knots

 

So there it is. Christmas week and what am I doing? Priming raw wood in the flat Don is building. First I had to put on the knot solution, and that got me wondering about knots.

Turns out, knots are places on the tree trunks where branches once were. As the trunk expands, fibre begins to circle the branch, which might then fall off or might not. On lumber, it can lead to localised weakness, but also display aesthetic beauty.

Like a tree trunk, our lives have branches, some of which remain, some which break or die off. Knots form. Localised weakness: intrinsic beauty.

Yesterday I visited a lovely lady living alone, suffering from dementia and not coping very well. Her daughter lives abroad. Very upsetting to see a much-loved mother struggling along, while her daughter is unable to visit as she’s used up all her holiday time already, and then there’s the Covid restrictions, too.

Too close to home. It exposed a knot in me. I can’t see any beauty there right now, but maybe one day. Yesterday it revealed a weakness which pole-axed me.

We’ve all lost branches. Christmas can be a time of heartbreak and longing. May the Lord redeem its true meaning in me, and others who can identify with such struggles.

Immanuel. Praise him.