Thanks to Ruth and Alan for sending this photograph of a plant pushing through the central hole in a glass table they have in their garden. I hasten to add that they don’t use this table very much!
It just speaks about the power of light and heat and long days! But there is something else about this plant that sent me off on a mind wander. I’m sure you’ve had times in your life when an impossible situation, eventually resolves itself. But in the time before the resolution happens we can feel trapped, or uncertain.
There is the quote, attributed to Thomas Fuller, a theologian, that ‘ the darkest hour is just before the dawn.’ It is a profound truth that Fuller committed to paper in the 1650’s, but I reckon it must have roots further back. It’s a phrase that resonates and which we can nod assent to, from our own experience.
When Ruth spotted this strange occurrence in the garden, it clearly set off a lot of thinking. So much so, that she wanted to share it with us! You will wander, in your thinking, through your own highways and byways, as you reflect.
For me it speaks of the infinite possibilities in our own lives, no matter how young or old. There are moments where we can feel trapped, within ourselves, relationships, or circumstances. We become like the plant, looking for new possibilities, seeking some kind of breakout. Hoping, longing, peering, beyond what seemimgly traps us. Then suddenly, the breakthrough, the very thing that has been there, leading to breakout and a new horizon. Not needing to move very far, but to just sense what is opening up before us.
The plant had lots of potential; look at the growth under the glass table top! It could have gone around the side, but one day in a moment of insight, it heads for the only gap in the table top. In my experience, this is the way that God works in our lives. Offering us new possibilities and insights, even in the difficult ‘trapped’ times. We just have to be attuned, aware, open, to new ways and directions.
If you feel, metaphorically, ‘trapped under the table top’, please be assured that the ‘Table Maker’, has it covered, and will show you the breakthrough point, in the most unlikely of moments.
Musings 