Beauty of the Journey

In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
- Revelation 22.2

The leaves rustle and my heart leaps with hope of what is to come.

I am present. I want to be present where I am, in the present. No toiling about this or that, but to be fully present in each moment. Each moment is a gift. This month I want to focus on that.

Here, on this darkling evening, warm and un-autumnal, I feel tired and I know I am lacking sleep. With the time change, it feels later, and the darkness creeps in earlier in the afternoon. By six o'clock the sky is dark. I am on my way home. The sun is extinguished for the day. I feel extinguished for the day, but hours of studying is still ahead of me. The warmth and humidity was stifling today, but still, I put on my orange zig zag socks because it is cosy and I get chilly inside while it is still so warm outside.

I wash my dishes at the sink after dinner. The routine of washing clean a favourite blue and white plate and any other cookware used is a nightly task always done before I can make tea. I click the water kettle on and pull down a pretty mug from my cabinet to make some peppermint tea. 

The day will come, in New Creation, when there will be fruit aplenty from the tree of life, during all seasons. Here and now, we might feel as if we are not being fruitful. We might wonder if our branches are growing weak or if we are just thirsty. We might feel like we are toiling day after day and seeing no fruit.

Take heart.

All the efforts and all the striving is not done in vain. Keep going. Continue onward.
If we hesitate, we linger in a place where we hear the lies whispered. And we start to listen to them if we are not careful.
Do not stop your journey. Keep the pace, and stay on track.

The beauty of the journey will soon be seen. It comes in many forms. The gentle murmur of the rustling leaves. The warm and cosy feeling when you get to go home after a long day. Snuggling with a blanket and book. Eating a meal with close friends. Along the way, you might be inspiring others around you, so don't doubt how God can use you. Your fruitfulness reaches beyond what you can see.