God Never Gives Up!

Photo by Tammy Shoemaker, OSB

As I sat at my desk one day on a very windy day, I caught glimpse of a shredded garbage bag hanging from one of our trees high up. I have no idea how long it had been there. It made me wonder and clearly, I had no idea how it had gotten so high up in the tree. The wind blew and blew this day and I do not know how the garbage bag hung on, but it did. As I watched the bag hang on to the tree, I began to think of life and how so related we are to the bag persevering to endure the windstorm. The purpose of the garbage bag was to hold trash, leaves, clothes etc. There was a plan for it. However, that plan was changed one day by the stirring of the wind. It was nudged to take a path different from the one imagined. And though it fought its path, the bag flew into the arms of a strong tree that held it and would not let it go. While many outside sources affected the bag, it persevered, though tattered, from the storm. Its perseverance paid off.

Some days I wonder how I got to where I am in life. The plans I had did not play out in my life. In fact, the direction of my life changed rapidly without my consent. I followed without a choice. Like the bag, I did not know where I would end up, but hung on with all my heart and persevered. Sometimes hanging there left me tattered, but I still hung on. What I found is that by persevering, I landed in the arms of a loving God. A God that would never let me go. What is it that is stirring in us? Where will the winds of life lead us? Like the bag, we never know, but I trust that God has me right where I need to be. I have weathered the storms of life because I hang on to what God is calling me to be and trust that God will never let me go. God never gives up!

 

Tammy Shoemaker, OSB