invitation to the table

good soil remembers the rain.

and my life has been a beautiful portrait of the beauty of Christ's goodness.

in ways, it feels as though it hasn't rained in a while, and that is frustrating.

in other ways, i wonder if my roots have reached a new depth. and so it is through a lesson of patience and waiting that i eagerly wait for the rain to seep deep enough through the soil, to where my new roots are at.

the more i wonder and wait to feel this rain i am longing for, the more my ears seem to be opened up to His voice. the more He seems to be encouraging me to trust Him, as i sit and wait in the prayer i prayed for: a desperate heart.

little did i know, that by asking the Lord for a heart so desperate for Him i couldn't bear the thought of going a moment without Him, that i was also signing up for understanding what desperation is.

i have tasted and seen goodness and grace. but now, through this lesson of great growing pains, i believe that goodness and grace are going to taste sweeter than i have ever known.

i believe reaching this new depth of soil is a slow but worthwhile process of developing a newfound eagerness for His rain.

how sweet it is.

through these things, i am also reminded that when a tree does produce fruit, it is not the tree who enjoys the fruit. what other purposes does bearing fruit have, other than that which is for others to enjoy?

bear much fruit. drop many seeds. steward more life! in every season: persist, pursue, and produce. yes, fruit takes time. but growth is happening somewhere always.

the growth may be invisible to the eye, as it may be found in the roots beneath the soil, but how important it is to nurture the unseen growth. the unseen, deepening roots, which are seeking and finding richer soil.

good soil remembers the rain. even when it cannot be felt or seen - it knows. good soil knows the rain has come, the rain is coming, and the rain will come.

dear Lord, pour it out. let the floodgates be opened so the water of Your blessing may nurture me. may my heart's soil be watered so that i may grow into a better depiction of a godly woman. let my life bear You much fruit! keep me selfless, always giving You the first fruits. keep me kind, always giving away and passing forward the goodness You have given me.

let there be much fruit, fruit for the whole table. let all who enter my life find a home at my table, and let all who sit eat of Your fruit because of the work You have done in me.

with great love,

emily christine