45 lines
1.3 KiB
Plaintext
45 lines
1.3 KiB
Plaintext
## 1:3
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%% 4
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> A Tree Planted by Streams
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>> He will be like a tree planted by the streams of water, that produces its fruit in its season, whose leaf also does not wither. Whatever he does shall prosper.
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Occasion: Waiting for the right season
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Lord, the branch is bare today.
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I look for buds and find none.
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The field is plain.
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The air is cold.
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Nothing in me likes this pause.
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I want some sign that growth is happening,
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some small assurance that this waiting is not wasted.
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Instead, I am left with stillness,
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and with questions I cannot answer.
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I do not know how long this season will last,
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or what You are doing where I cannot see.
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Teach me not to force what is not yet time.
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Give me the sense to wait without frustration.
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Keep me present to the life I have now,
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even while I long for what is yet to be.
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I know the pull to push harder,
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to call hurry ``faithfulness,''
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to grab at green fruit before it's ripe,
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and spoil it before it's ready.
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Keep me with those who know the rhythm of the seasons,
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who can sit through winter,
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who do not lie about the cold,
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but still expect the spring.
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And when I grow tired of waiting,
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give me enough patience for this day ---
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not certainty about everything ahead,
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but grace to remain rooted here.
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The branch is bare today.
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It will not be bare forever.
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Amen.
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