Bend But Not Break

Daily Gratitude Year 5-Day 14: Today, I am grateful we can choose to bend and not break. 

The days are getting longer. I could stop today's gratitude post right there. Feel free to pause, give thanks for flexibility and more light... and get on with your day. 

Or... continue to read. The scripture fits this image:

"But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?" -Matthew 6:30

Light through the ice is so amazing as it clothes the grass. The grass bows with the weight of the ice, and finds the strength to bend but not break. (I know... two days of the ice thing, but the splendor of it all is hard to ignore.) I wonder if faith allows us to do the same thing. We bend, but don't break. 

This picture was taken out my back door this week. Randy leaves the tall grasses through the winter and will cut them down in the spring when new life appears. I am amazed how the water pebbles and holds on to the feathery tips of the grass, until the ice is formed. The blades grow heavy and bend... but they do... not... break. 

Grass is resilient. The grass will produce new life when the sun warms the ground. Often, the lawn will be fuller and more beautiful with each passing year, as the grass becomes more established. It is as if it builds confidence and strength with each new spring. 

I always think of Joseph when I hear the word "bend". His life was complicated. Dumped into a well, sold into slavery, accused of sexual assault when he refused advances by the boss's wife... and missing out on his brother Benjamin's youth. He had seasons of success... losses... and times in prison. He had opportunities to create positive change, and other times, he had to bow to sovereign God  and wait. 

Joseph trusted God, even when God allowed him to experience uncomfortable seasons. I imagine there were times he suffered from heat... and cold... and hunger. Joseph never gave up. He never forgot God was with him in the good times and in every trial. His faithfulness is inspiring. 

There is much to be learned from Joseph... and the grass clothed in ice. 

Today, I am grateful we can choose to bend and not break.