Something unusual caught my eye a few weeks ago when I took my puppy out for his morning constitutional. The tall, purple flowers along the front of our house were leaning toward the sun rising in the East. These normally attention-straight bursts of color — a friend identified them as Agapanthus — were leaning eastward at almost a forty-five degree angle.
Interesting.
The flowers, firmly rooted in good soil, were leaning as far as they could towards the warmth of the sun. It was as if they were stretching their hardest to get what they knew they needed the most.
Leaning into the sun.
In a play on words it made me think — I need to lean into the Son. He is the source of our sustenance, our life. We can’t truly live without Him. Leaning into Him will help us grow and remain strong as we face the trials of life.
Seeing these flowers made me realize that amid the fears caused by Covid-19, the sadness, anger and sense of helplessness in our nation’s racial crisis and even simply adjusting to each new phase of the empty nest — the best thing I can do is
Lean into the Son
As many of you, I started the new year with hopes, dreams and the best of intentions. I was blessed to experience the trip of a lifetime with my husband and other family members in late January and early February. Soon after we returned home, we were thrust into the global pandemic and all of its uncertainty. I had surgery in March, got a puppy in April and visited with family in May. Then, the issue of racism reared its ugly head.
I have to confess, all of these things literally left me at a loss for words. I struggled with the feeling that my words really didn’t matter in these overwhelming times.
But, words are important — everyone’s words. I hope to continue to offer words of encouragement, in the context of my faith, to anyone who reads my words — especially to my fellow empty-nesters. I pray that you, too, will lean into the Son as we navigate these turbulent times.
Kim Wilbanks 