A little reminder that life and death occupy the same room. A light frost blackened the leaves on the easternmost portion of the pumpkin patch while flowers on the western vines are still triumphantly blooming. Life goes on until it doesn’t. The death of one dream or portion of a dream doesn’t mean to sound an “ALL STOP!” The pumpkins themselves can survive until temperatures dip into the mid-20s. The flowers that are still blooming may not hope of reproducing, but they can feed any insects hardy enough to withstand the chill. Loss will certainly unnerve us, but it doesn’t need to derail or destroy us. Knowing death exists alongside life should serve to remind us to appreciate the blessings we have been given while we still have them. Nor should we curl up and die ourselves before our time because we have been waylaid by loss or failure. We should look for what’s still alive, for where we can still bloom, still produce fruit, and appreciate how we can continue to grow or nurture others.
Matthew 5:45b “For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike.”
