Heather in Snow ~ Stay the Course

 

After some especially cold days and a few overnight inches of snow, I came across this rosy-pink heather blooming nearby. Heather is a hardy plant recognized for its strength and enduring ability to survive and even flourish under harsh conditions, whether that's thin, rocky soil, temperature extremes and fast changing, nasty weather. And so it is rightly recognized as a beautiful symbol of solitude and perseverance. One website says it symbolizes, "Staying the course even when all the tables seem to be turned against you."

Of course, these gospel verses may well come to mind as well — Luke 9:51ff

51 Now it happened that as the time drew near for Jesus to be taken up, he resolutely turned his face towards Jerusalem and sent messengers ahead of him. 52 These set out, and they went into a Samaritan village to make preparations for him 53 but  the people would not receive him because he was making for Jerusalem. 54 Seeing this, the disciples James and John said, "Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to burn them up?" But he turned and rebuked them, 55 and they went on to another village.

Verse 51:  Another translation says Jesus turned his face like flint. 

Verse 52: The hatred of Jews and Samaritans for each other is well known. But that hatred found a particular expression towards Jews who were headed towards Jerusalem on pilgrimage. Samaritans worshipped on a different mountain and read different scriptures.

Verse 54: There are some Christians today who have, "Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to burn them up," in their hearts.

Verse 55: Nothing seems to catch a scolding from Jesus like twisted religion.

Back to the winter blooming heather — stay the course of doing what God has put before me to do and the essential inner work of turning  my mind and heart to God's light.

Heather Recovery ~ And Human Need

I discovered this small heather on a nursery discount stand of plants with broken branches or which had not been watered and were dry and withered. But I saw spark in it, took it home, watered and planted it in new ground. Having found its right place, it revived and grew.

Now in the first days of July, with white alyssum as neighbors, I see it has started to bloom with delicate white flowers. The tag that accompanies most nursery plants was missing when I bought it, but I have a feeling this little heather will change color in the fall and perhaps even eventually resemble flame!

To be sure, it needed to be watered and freed of its root-confining plastic pot, but I believe the cause of the new growth and beauty, the magic if you will, was that I saw it, acknowledged it, in the first place. There's an epidemic of alienation and loneliness in our country — like the wasted heather, we all need to hear, "Hello, I see you," "There you are." "I've noticed you." "You matter." I think Christians ought to be the world's experts in these things.

"It's not what you look at that matters but what you see." Henry David Thoreau

Jesus entered Jericho and was passing through. And there was a man named Zacchaeus; he was a chief tax collector, and rich. And he sought to see who Jesus was, but could not, on account of the crowd, because he was small of stature. So he ran on ahead and climbed up into a sycamore tree to see him, for he was to pass that way. And when Jesus came to the place, he looked up and said to him, "Zacchaeus, make haste and come down; for I must stay at your house today." So he made haste and came down and received Jesus joyfully...And Jesus said to him, Today salvation has come this house..."  Luke 19:1-6,9