Although most of these words are not my own, they are calming and bring light to what I consider my short-comings and lack of productivity.
Edward Hays is a priest, trained by Benedictine Monks, and a self-titled folk artist and writer. One of the books he has written is a collection of parables called The Ethiopian Tattoo Shop . In the parable of "The Fig Tree" there is a discourse between a gardener and a young fig tree. The young tree does not feel that being a fig tree would be very special or exciting, so the young tree has been trying its whole life to be something other than a fig tree. As you may guess, the tree has failed over and over again.The gardener goes on to explain to the tree the difference between a job and a vocation. The gardener even gives the following quote from E. E. Cummings to the tree to think about:
To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best, day and night, to make you everybody else, means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight, and never stop fighting.
The story ends with the little fig tree saying in a loud and confident voice of self-resolution, "I think I'll be a fig tree."What a wonderful gift parables are. Parables can take questions as complicated as "What is my purpose in life?" and shed a bit of light on them. I invite you to spend some time now, or later today, or this week, and think about what type of tree you might be. We laugh at the proposition of a fig tree trying to grow apples, but yet we find it somewhat shocking or embarrassing when we cannot always produce the fruit that we might desire to produce. Take some time and think about how uniquely you have been made an! d what a gift it might be to the world to be blessed with you exactly as you are with no masks, walls, or excuses.
Psalm 139: 13-18
For it was you who formed my inward parts;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
that I know very well.
My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes beheld my unformed substance.
In your book were written
all the days that were formed for me,
when none of them as yet existed.
How weighty to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
I try to count them-they are more than the sand;
I come to the end-I am still with you.
Extremely powerful words that remind me that the best I can ever be is me, and that as long as I'm true to myself and God nothing can stop me. No one and no thing should ever make me feel like I have to be someone else to be great.
Edward Hays is a priest, trained by Benedictine Monks, and a self-titled folk artist and writer. One of the books he has written is a collection of parables called The Ethiopian Tattoo Shop . In the parable of "The Fig Tree" there is a discourse between a gardener and a young fig tree. The young tree does not feel that being a fig tree would be very special or exciting, so the young tree has been trying its whole life to be something other than a fig tree. As you may guess, the tree has failed over and over again.The gardener goes on to explain to the tree the difference between a job and a vocation. The gardener even gives the following quote from E. E. Cummings to the tree to think about:
To be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best, day and night, to make you everybody else, means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight, and never stop fighting.
The story ends with the little fig tree saying in a loud and confident voice of self-resolution, "I think I'll be a fig tree."What a wonderful gift parables are. Parables can take questions as complicated as "What is my purpose in life?" and shed a bit of light on them. I invite you to spend some time now, or later today, or this week, and think about what type of tree you might be. We laugh at the proposition of a fig tree trying to grow apples, but yet we find it somewhat shocking or embarrassing when we cannot always produce the fruit that we might desire to produce. Take some time and think about how uniquely you have been made an! d what a gift it might be to the world to be blessed with you exactly as you are with no masks, walls, or excuses.
Psalm 139: 13-18
For it was you who formed my inward parts;
you knit me together in my mother's womb.
I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
that I know very well.
My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
Your eyes beheld my unformed substance.
In your book were written
all the days that were formed for me,
when none of them as yet existed.
How weighty to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
I try to count them-they are more than the sand;
I come to the end-I am still with you.
Extremely powerful words that remind me that the best I can ever be is me, and that as long as I'm true to myself and God nothing can stop me. No one and no thing should ever make me feel like I have to be someone else to be great.
No comments:
Post a Comment