The Gardener and The Vine

God is constantly moving in subtle, little ways in my life. Some might call them coinsidences, but I call them God. Rob and I were out on a date this past week and as he went to buy movie tickets, I ran over to the bookstore to browse. I love bookstores. Ever seen You've Got Mail? If I could have a 'shop around the corner', I would. ;) Anyway, I was in the bookstore browsing for some 'Armor of God' coloring books (we're going to be learning about this over the summer, making our own armor of God in 3-D form), when I stumbled upon this book (above). It was the last copy and was $4.99, my kind of price. As I read through it, it was as if the Lord was sitting down next to me (yes, I'm always found sitting Indian style, quite comfy on a bookstore's floor), reading it to me. A chill went up my spine and I prayed right then and there, thanking the Lord for His guidance and leading over my life. The chills are because for awhile, I've been looking for a verse or passage of scripture that I can claim as 'mine'. You know. Some people just like to have a passage from the Bible that they memorize and have as theirs. John 15 is mine. Thus, why I've based the new blog after this passage. Anyway, I didn't know this book even existed. It was just one of those 'God things' and I wanted to share it with you all.

The Book...

The book is a about a little branch name Basil. Basil lives on a thin, scraggly vine and life is good. One day, the gardener shows up and tells Basil that he's exactly the branch he's been looking for. The gardener tells Basil that he has good and bad news. The good news was that Basil was going to grow a lot of grapes, but the bad news was that he was going to have to clip him from his vine and take him away to another vine. Basil knew that the snipping would hurt, but he trusted the gardener. After Basil had been removed from the vine, he and the gardener tracked through a jungle, a hot desert, snowy mountains and then finally came to a beautiful garden. When they found the new vine Basil was going to become a part of, the gardener snipped the other vine, placed Basil together with the vine and bound them. Basil was scared and thought he might die. The gardener reassurred him that this was a new beginning and he would live. Sure enough, Basil and the vine lived and flourished, producing lots of juicy grapes, thanks to the gardener.

Bottom line, we will go through trials in life. God has told us this in His Word. The awesome thing about it that if we TRUST God with our lives and the decisions we make, He will guide us and take care of us. We will have pain and sorrow, but these trials are what make us strong. We will grow closer to Jesus and in His love, we will flourish! Isn't that something to be grateful for? How awesome!!!