POM WONDERFUL

Some think the pomegranate tree is not beautiful. I tend to disagree. Its fine branches filled with beautiful blossoms and its crowned fruit are lovely to behold. I hear and see God's beauty in its unique design. The pomegranate is a mysterious fruit associated with Greek gods, but the God of my life has been showing me truth through this fruit:"Your shoots are an orchard of pomegranates With choice fruits, henna with nard plants" (Songs 4:13). God speaks to me: don't listen to detractors or admirers. Listen to Me, for I formed and made you uniquely for my pleasure and service.

I am the pomegranate tree. I have been hidden and covered for my own protection for the pomegranate easily yields to infestation and pest destruction, so it must be covered with unsightly paper bags. Still, the beauty of the fruit of the Spirit can be seen as I am crowned with honor and beauty in the same way the fruit of the pomegranate gains its crown in the summer.

Yet, if the fruit of pomegranate is not picked, it will wither and dehydrate on the branch or its sweet wine will become sap on the ground. Therefore, those tending the pomegranate must pick it from the branches, prepare it for consumption, and reseeding. 

The pomegranate is not cheap, but its every part is useful. Its skin is dried and pounded into a spice used in Indian cooking, the seeds also. Its juice provides healthy and necessary anti-oxidants to defeat the free radicals that age the body and cause disease. The seed is then planted to recreate this precious fruit whose worth is lauded in the Song of Solomon and whose shape was replicated on the hem of the High Priest's robe so that when he entered the Holy of Holies the bells would ring as he walked and allow the other priests to know that He was still alive in God's presence behind the veil. Solomon compares his brides temples to pomegranate halves hidden behind her veil. It is such a beautiful image of Jesus' view of His bride, for He entered the Holy of Holies one time so that we can have complete access to His throne.

To soften the pomegranate, one can rub it against a hard surface. These 44 years have included some hard edges that Jesus, with His gentle scarred hands, has softened through hard experiences and people. After softening the fruit, retracting the seeds is easy now. Softening makes it easy for Jesus to take out the spiritual seeds out of me and plant them in the soil where He chooses. Rabbinical teaching maintains that the pomegranate contains 613 seeds- one for every mitzvot or commandment found in the Torah.

I am not married, so my orchard does not include children of the flesh or a husband.  I have sometimes lamented that fact and been saddened.  Even as I write these words, tears of joy stream down my face as I meditate on God's mercy and grace. This week, I stood in my spiritual orchard with Jesus. It went so far into the horizon that I could not see the end to the trees, the lives, that God had impacted through me. There are trees from Rosenberg/Richmond, TX, Houston, TX, Sherman, TX.,  Evanston, IL., Williamstown, MA, Bowling Green KY, France, Spain, Brazil, Argentina, England, Germany, Dominican Republic, Mexico, Israel, Italy, Portugal, Austria, Nicaragua, Uruguay, Paraguay, Belgium, Switzerland, Denmark,  Luxembourg, Canada and Kenya.

Organizations, churches, schools and kibbutzim have been fertile soil into which to plant God's seed. Their names  echo in my heart as Reba Place, Christ Chapel, Terry High School, Williams College, Northwestern University, Wharton County Junior College, YMCA, YWAM, Servas, Girl Scouts, Chabad House,  Hillel House, Jews for Jesus, CEIA, Mama's House, Rosenberg Rehabilitation Center, Richmond State School, Cambridge Retirement Village, Fort Bend ISD, Lamar CISD, University of Houston System, Belhaven University, Kendall College, Austin College, Living Waters, Black Diamonds, Black Expressions, Fools for Christ, after-school tutoring, Praise Exultation, My Father's House Children's Ministry, Freedom and Destiny, Calvary Baptist, Glad Tidings, Mi Pequeña Luz, ...

When Jesus showed me the trees, I felt a bit like Johnny Appleseed- always on the move and dropping seed, tapping them securely into the ground, and then moving onto the next spot. Sometimes, I would remain in one spot for years and cultivate an orchard like I have done at my present school.
Schools, nursing homes, churches, homeless shelters, entire neighborhoods (Bowling Green, Curitiba, Rosenberg, Sherman), wherever He led me; migrant laborers, immigrants, abandoned elderly, and orphaned children, sexually confused, Jew or Gentile, whatever life He told me to touch - these became my orchard.

There are seasons of healing in our lives just as there are seasons in nature. In the spring, the blossoms from the pomegranate tree fall and provide a red beautiful bridal path. That is the season where I am presently. I have danced and sung my way across 5 continents. As I listen to Jim Croegaert's song about changes, it speaks to my heart. The lyrics say, "Sometimes, we may be lonely; it's hard job making us holy, but in the long run there will be glory, glory to reveal the sun." As I stand back and look over these years, I realize the truth in that song. To God be the glory.

Celebrating 44,
MJ