That was Then

That was September 2024 during the hurricane season. The avocado tree in my back yard didn’t survive the winds that Helene brought. We had to have it chopped and removed. In falling, thankfully it missed my back porch and roof by just a few inches. It also snapped some service cables nearby. Sometimes when we fall, things around us [ and people] get uprooted too. Collateral damage we often say.

This is now. Less than a year, there is rebirth. I believe in new birth, regeneration, and starting new. No one is beyond redemption. Even the most broken and fractured can be fixed. Re-purposed if needs be. Shattered hearts can love again- believe again. Let’s not lose hope that there can be a turnaround. Buried dreams can be resurrected. It’s not too late to forgive and release. There is always the possibility for reconciliation of hearts and lives. It’s not over when the fat lady sings. It’s only over when God says it is over. On this first day of May – we get turn new pages and write new chapters.

Take a deep breath – stand. Allow God to strengthen your knees, lift your feeble hands that hang down. Be reminded of whose you are in the moments when you are not so sure. That was then, this is now. Psalm 18 gives hope:

‘You light a lamp for me.
The Lord, my God, lights up my darkness.
In your strength I can crush an army;
with my God I can scale any wall.

God arms me with strength,
and he makes my way perfect.
He makes me as surefooted as a deer,
enabling me to stand on mountain heights. He trains my hands for battle;
he strengthens my arm to draw a bronze bow.
You have given me your shield of victory.
Your right hand supports me…’

**** Thanks for reading – Remember that was then; this is now.