Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! -2 Corinthians 5:17, NIV

The Hawaiian word “kanu” means both to bury and to plant. A beautiful and bittersweet image comes to mind when I think of this word. I picture myself standing over a patch of barren soil with a digging tool in my hand. Beneath the surface in its resting place, I bury all my disappointments and discarded dreams, my grief, my thoughts of what should’ve been but is not. This burial becomes an offering to the One who can create something new out of it. Not a second passes before a gray cloud moves in, dimming the sky and sighing out in relief, as if it has waited all this time to release its rain in drops that trickle one by one, then in quick succession. The rain clears all that is in its wake and wipes away what no longer remains.

The illuminating light of the sun follows suit. I watch faithfully as the smallest of sprouts emerges from the patch of soil containing my broken heart, a sprout hardly noticeable but commanding in its presence. Now not just one, but two, then three buds bloom and multiply in assortment, and from this patch of barren soil brings a garden of breathing color. My soul lifts off the ground as I now walk through a field of flowers, singing in delight of all the Lord has done.

Father, may I surrender to Your will and put to rest what brings death to my soul. May You replenish me with living water and may I let Your love nourish and fill me. Let my heart want for nothing but You, for You are my Shepherd and I lack nothing. Thank you for raising up new life and making me into a new creation each day. Amen.

by Jaz