The Flowering Crab

Year 7-Day 123: Today, I am grateful for the flowering crab.

The flowering crab in our backyard is blooming. I could tell it was close yesterday. It is a wild, whimsical tree with crazy limbs. The birds love it. Soon, I will be greeted each morning with songs from its branches. 

I snapped this picture because it is in the becoming stage. Part is still in bud... and part is in full bloom. If a strong wind comes... and it may... the backyard will look like it snowed. 

Because of its crazy branches, it has always seemed a bit irreverent to me. While most trees seem to shoot upward, reaching for the heavens... the flowering crab branches take unexpected, random paths. Still, it eventually finds its way and becomes a thing of beauty each spring and summer. I have even grown to love the way it flocks with snow in the winter. Not an evergreen, but a place for the snow to sparkle. 

I think the flowering crab is a reminder of our free spirits and free will. An unexpected twist or turn does not mean we have completely lost our way. If we keep seeking the sun... and the Son... we find our purpose in Him. We might not look like the other trees in the yard, but that does not make us less than the tall, straight and proper trees. Our God does not see us that way. 

Each one of us was unworthy... but still chosen... to be adopted into the family of God. 

See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. -1 John 3:1

Jesus wants to heal us. He doesn't erase our scars or a hurtful past, but he heals our wounds. His heart beats to restore us. He took the beatings and the cross so that he would understand our pain and as the lamb that would seal a new covenant. He conquered death... and the grave... so that we, too, would taste, know and live a new life.  

Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. -Isaiah 53:4-5

When I feel like I am a mess, I remember He loves us in our messes. He chose to die for us while we were still sinners. He paid the price so we could live for free and be free. We all have a different path ... but in the end... we must choose Him. 

Today, I am grateful for the flowering crab.