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From Rev. Brock Patterson
"Routine? Hardly....”
Most of my life consists of routine. Day to day, week to week, there’s very little difference from one day to the next. Oh, sure, sometimes I’ll encounter something unusual, but it’s not much different than things that everyone else experiences.
I take the same walks and see the same trees every day. They’re pretty, but generally unnoticeable because I always see the same ones. However, while walking yesterday, I noticed that one large limb had split from the trunk of a tree. All of the leaves attached to the part of the tree were dark brown and obviously dead.
Immediately, I thought, “That’s leftover Hurricane Ian damage from last Fall”. Is that interesting? No, not really. But for whatever reason, I’ve walked by that same tree at least once per day for the last several months and never recognized that half of the tree was dying while the other half was thriving. I didn’t notice it until half the tree broke away, falling into my path.
I should’ve noticed this before now. However, it was such a slow, gradual occurrence that my brain subconsciously overlooked it, day after day. As one who typically pays attention to detail, I should have seen this coming. But sometimes, it’s difficult to notice the gradual hurt in life. The sudden shocks are much easier to see than the slow movements.
Why have I missed this detail for months? What does it say about my awareness of the things around me? Is there a lesson to learn from an overlooked tree?
If I were to write my own biography, most of it would be really boring. Day to day there are subtle shifts and changes, but most of the variances go unnoticed by others and even by me! Still, there are major events that would appear to have destroyed but actually brought forth newness to my life.
Thanks be to God, who always brings newness as we let go of the old parts that ebb away at the fullness of life. Thanks be to God for bringing the new to me so I may walk the path of beauty with my Creator.
I hope you’ll join me Sunday in worship. God is doing something new!
God Bless,
Brock
“So then, if anyone is in Christ, that person is part of the new creation. The old things have gone away, and look, new things have arrived!” (1 Corinthians 5:17, CEB)
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