It has taken me two weeks to figure out a title for Pst. Liz’s twin messages! Between ‘listen to a pastor’s story’ and ‘of giants, lions and furnaces’ I was torn between her personal testimony and the conquest that each and every Christian is equipped to fight and conquer.
Ultimately, I settled for ‘In Season’. Why? Because her story, the conquest and her chosen theme for the twin messages have a common thread. They are about life’s seasons.
I have never drawn so much life from the John 15: Message of the True Vine like I did these two weeks. My greatest realization was that one is never out of season-because even winter is a season and a relevant one for that matter.
The winter season was a transformational rhema for me. My goodness! It turns out that the shedding of leaves; the cold and chills; the exposure to winter’s harsh elements, with no much defense not to mention the unsightly appearance of the vine in that season, can easily render it dead and useless in the eyes of the ignorant.
But no! It is the season of rooting. The season when the vine digs deeper into the ground and spreads its roots in preparation of the harvest season. It is the season that the vine builds it’s ability to nourish the branches to bear the weight of the coming harvest two seasons away.
Who would have thought that it is the winter season that determines the plushness of Spring’s leaves and the juicy plumpness of each individual grape? Who would have thought that it is the Winter season that determines the prosperity of the vine, its leaves and its branches-not to mention the pocket of the farmer by extension?
My perception and attitude towards winter took a complete turnaround as I listened to the Woman of God nourish our souls and spirits with this transformational message. One that with understanding ensures that one’s soul and spirit will never be broken by a winter season but rather, will be uplifted to strengthen the will, mind, emotions and body, for the forthcoming spring and harvest.
Now I can warmly welcome the shedding of autumn as a season of rest and not loss; and winter as a season of rejuvenation on the inside where it matters most. For as Christ taught us,”What comes out of a man’s mouth comes from the heart…” In Vine-ese it would probably sound something like, “your roots determine your fruit”
Forever Love
In Christ
Waithera Gaitho