One of the lessons that has been echoing in my life lately is simply this: Just because it’s open on the calendar doesn’t mean that it’s open.
In other words, a date or time-slot being empty doesn’t mean that I’m free or available or should fill the slot. Sometimes I’ll peek at our Google calendar and think-we’ll we’re free that night so we should have people over! Not realizing that’s the only free night we have all week.
I’m slowly learning the importance of open spots on the calendar-that allow me to replenish my roots. It turns out that this idea of replenishment is woven in the fabric of Scripture.
In Leviticus 19:23-25, God tells his people not to eat a tree’s fruit until the fifth year; the first three allow the tree to bulk up the amount of fruit and those that bloom in the fourth are given as a tithe to God. By having a collective date as every tree’s birthday, the Jewish people found they could more easily keep track of their tree’s ages.
This date is Tu B’Shevat, the Jewish New Year for trees. This year, the trees’ birthday begins on the evening of Tuesday, February 7th and ends on the evening of the 8th.
A young tree doesn’t have the root structure or the limb support to provide a healthy harvest of plump juicy fruits. By giving a space of three years before gathering the first crop, God gives ample time for the tree to build up the strength necessary to support fruit. In the long run, the tree will be healthier, live longer, and yield a bigger crop of delectable delights all because the plant had time to bolster its roots.
What if God is calling me to be like the tree, to slow down and replenish my roots? Maybe in the stillness I’ll find God beckoning me to drink deep in the waters of his love. Maybe in his tender embrace I’ll be reminded of the ripples of his glorious presence throughout creation. Renewed, refreshed, and strong again I will once again lift my limbs, and as I do notice that the entire time I replenished my roots I was bearing fruit.
What activities tend to replenish your roots?
What stops are you placing in your calendar?
**Photo courtesy of here
I was thinking of this exact thing earlier today, but by way of my children. It seems as though the pressures around them even from school, wants to jam pack their lives with things to do. I was reflecting on how much I need to let them *just be*.
Their minds, hearts and bodies need the rest of not having every moment spoken for. By purposefully slowing down, I’m hoping to instill the ability to be able to be comfortable and comforted in the quiet and being able to grow in the recognition of His still small voice.
So true–that sense of just being is easily lost in our crazy busy culture. Hope you’re having a great day!
What a beautiful post, Margaret. Lovely imagery. We are living in a time of sacrifice and abundance this year; my husband is once again staying home with the girls. Our family cannot sustain two filled-up calendars. We’ve questioned some of the so-called necessities – do we really need cable? Do we really need cell phones? – and have happily discerned that the answer is no. That said, I finally signed up for a monthly therapeutic massage, and I cannot tell you how much more grounded I am. A much better use of time and money than hundreds of TV channels!
Katherine,
I love the way you say that– “our family cannot sustain two filled-up calendars”–that is such a great way to consider life. Not what can our checkbook handle, not what stress can our relationships survive, not how much more will the lenders give us (though all questions that need to be asked at times)…but how much more can our calendar sustain. Love it.
Good words to a work aholic. We would be wise to listen to the lessons in nature. Letting soil rest also allows for sustained harvests. Think I will go skiing today…
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