I Am a Knot

     Have you ever studied a plank of wood?

     Long and rough, sturdy and straight, yet so easily sanded, cut and nailed. It can take a lifetime to form a hardwood, and only a few months to be transformed from tree to plank to house.

     Look at that plank. Its grain lends character and beauty and is a reminder of the strength of wood. Cut against the grain, and you get weak wood, virtually useless. Cut with the grain and you get a strong plank, long and useful in a thousand applications.

     Look at the knot, a bullseye interrupting the otherwise linear pattern. That knot was a branch, the producer of fruit and, through its leaves, a receiver of sun.

     I saw a few knots today on my lunch walk that caught my eye. The planks were gray and weathered, but, for reasons I don’t know, the knots were golden and brilliant. I’ve never noticed them before, but there they were, and with them my lesson:

      He is the vine and we are the branches. I am thankful that I don’t have to worry about being strong, that’s His job. I am grateful that my job is to produce fruit and receive the light. And, should he choose to allow me to be planed and sanded into something useful, I appreciate that He sometimes allows me to shine.

     I am a knot, and I am way OK with that.