Starting Over

Ezekiel 36:33-36

This is what the Sovereign Lord says: “On the day I cleanse you from all your sins, I will resettle your towns, and the ruins will be rebuilt. 34 The desolate land will be cultivated instead of lying desolate in the sight of all who pass through it. 35 They will say,

‘This land that was laid waste has become like the garden of Eden; the cities that were lying in ruins, desolate and destroyed, are now fortified and inhabited.’ 36 Then the nations around you that remain will know that I the Lord have rebuilt what was destroyed and have replanted what was desolate. I the Lord have spoken, and I will do it.”

 

 

It is that time of year again. A time I love, when the earth comes alive in countless shades of green, and vibrant displays of bloom.

Don’t get me wrong.  I appreciate winter.  I need winter.  In fact, a few years ago I wrote this poem about the necessary starkness of winter, and how it speaks to me:

 

Give me bare branches

Lifeless limbs clinging

To solitary shriveled leaves

I don’t do evergreen

Give me the severe, the stark, the stubborn

Bold displays of neutral

Nothing, against a bright blue sky

Give me bare branches

Dormant, but not dead

Dreadful, but not dead

Defiant, deceptive, but not dead

Cut and see, wound and watch

Milky life forms slow droplets against dry wood, oozes gently from tender green and white flesh

Life licks its wounds

Goes dark

Goes deep

And waits

Wisely, willfully, wistfully,

To witness winter’s end

 

Without winter, there could be no end to winter.  Without winter, there would be no spring.  This time of year that I love is made sweeter by its absence, by having to wait for it.  

The writings of Ezekiel are made powerful by their contrast.  The beginnings of the book are harsh, judgmental.  But after the fall of Jerusalem, Ezekiel’s prophetic messages turn to hope.  God will act to restore what has fallen, and to revive God’s people.  What is desolate will be cultivated; what is destroyed will be rebuilt, not because of who the people are, but because of who God is.

It is God’s nature to begin again, to start over, to redeem and restore.  In this beautiful part of the world, here in east Tennessee, we get to witness it every year.  The season speaks renewal and redemption.  Today, may your heart hear its message.

Let us pray:

Creator, Redeemer and Sustainer, we thank you for the lessons spring teaches us, year after blessed year.  May we look for signs of new life, evidence of your activity in the world, today and every day, and may we be thereby encouraged to speak as witnesses of your redemptive love and faithfulness.  Amen.

 

Today’s devotional was written and read by Greta Smith.

Grace for All is a daily devotional podcast produced by the members of the congregation of First United Methodist Church in Maryville, Tennessee. With these devotionals, we want to remind listeners on a daily basis of the love and grace that God extends to all human beings, no matter their location, status, or condition in life.

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First United Methodist Church is a lively, spirit-filled congregation whose goal is to spread the message of love and grace into our community and throughout the world. We are located on the web at https://1stchurch.org/.