Green Blades Rising by Sharon Espeseth

Last fall, my husband and I worked on the patchy, weed-filled lawn we had inherited from our landlord. Our last job before the snow fell was roughing up the bare patches, sprinkling grass seed,
and spreading soil over these bare spots.

As the snow disappears this spring and the sun warms the earth, we see delicate blades of grass appearing. Hank and I are excited to observe that the seasons have again produced the miracle of new life. Easter, like spring, demonstrates God's love for us as we again observe the death and rising of Jesus, our Lord and Saviour. Christ is indeed risen from the dead.

As writers, we sometimes feel as though we have gone through a long winter where the ideas don't come, or if they do, we fail to get them down on paper. What can awaken us from our slumbers to become enthused, to write again with heart and soul?

These thoughts led me to Revelations. The first three chapters are written mostly in red ink, denoting Christ is speaking. The Apostle John, banished to the Island of Patmos, because of his preaching the gospel, explains that it was the Lord's Day. He, John, was "in the Spirit," when he heard a loud voice telling him to write on a scroll what he saw. This writing was to go to the seven churches.

Reading Revelations Chapter 3, a letter to the Church in Sardis, I felt God speaking to me--a writer who had been wintering too long. "Up on your feet!" Take a deep breath! Maybe there's life in you yet. But I wouldn't know it by looking at your busywork, nothing of God's work has been
completed. . . Think of the gift you once had in your hands, the Message you heard with your ears--grasp it again and turn back to God."

Strong words! Next I am warned that if I pull the covers back over my head and sleep on, "oblivious to God," Christ will return and break into my life "like a thief in the night."

Somebody's Knocking at My Door

To the Church in Laodicea, Paul writes the message about the people being neither hot nor cold. "You're stale. You're stagnant. You make me want to vomit," the Word continues. I am convicted of my lackadaisical ways. In verse 19, our Lord says, "The people I love, I call to account--prod and correct and guide so that they'll live at their best. Up on your feet, then! About face! Run after God!"

Wow! God loves me and he's giving me another chance, and he'll help me. Jesus is at the door knocking. If I open the door of my heart once more and let him in, he will sit down to supper with me. He will teach me to manage my life so that I can be a conqueror. Tears come to my eyes as I realize God is with me and he will help me overcome the busyness and trivia of my life.

The Lord asks if my ears are awake?

"Yes, they are!" I respond.

"Listen to the Wind Words," he says, "and the Spirit blowing through the churches."

Prayer: Thank you, Lord, that I can see, feel, and touch the green blades rising.  Thank you for your promise to guide me in my life and writing. May I write with enthusiasm and devotion so that others will hear the "Wind Words" that come from you, so that we will all feel the Spirit blowing through our churches. Amen.

Reference: Bible quotes from Revelations as translated by John Peterson in The Message. 

Dictionary Note. *The word enthusiasm has its roots in the Greek language. Literally it means "the God (entheo) inside (iasm)".
* Mirriam-Webster Online