By Harold Vance
Abiding
The branch, hanging low and proud on the tree,
Stays connected somehow.
Such a lifestyle is tangible, to say the least.
You can look right at it and see the joint.
And the tree, rising tall and steady,
Stays connected to the earth,
Into which it has sunk its roots deeply.
And this connection too,
Is a tangible one,
One that eyes can turn toward
and see.
And the earth, low and dirty,
Is connected to every living thing,
Finding life within it and upon it.
Though this particular connection,
This thing we so vaguely call gravity,
Is slightly less visible,
It is no less tangible,
Except to birds,
Airplanes,
And astronauts.
But even then, it is not unfelt,
Only overcome.
And people, fragile amalgamations of blessings and curses,
We are connected to Yahweh,
The One who blesses,
The One who creates,
The One who makes all things connected,
And connects all connections to himself.
And we have a choice to make:
Do we remain in our connection,
Do we seek to be sustained by branching our lives out from Yahweh’s very core?
Do we seek nutrients from the soils of prayer?
Do we ground ourselves with gravity and humility?
Or do we fight to overcome
The connection we are born into?
We can overcome it,
If we so choose.
Yet what becomes of the branch
That refuses to remain connected to the tree,
Or to the tree that pulls up its roots?
Or to the bird
Or plane
Or astronaut
Who decides never to touch land again?
Harold lives in the midst of the beautiful mountains and streams of New England, and works as a program guide and teacher at a therapeutic alternative high school program in Vermont. He received his Bachelor’s of Arts in English from Green Mountain College, in Poultney, VT. Harold is currently doing life with the Dwell Missional Community in Burlington, VT, where he is helping to organize a Kingdom arts co-op. The website will be up soon: www.intothemidst.com