Walking Across Gravel

“All grapes have an affection for… stony soils. Making the vines struggle generally results in better quality grapes. The grape plant reproduces when she gets concerned that her survival is at risk.” Chasing Vines, Beth Moore, p. 105-106.

When I was a little girl, I was (and still am) your typical bare-foot daughter of the South. Upon spring's arrival, I would hobble across graveled areas without even considering shoes. Those first barefoot weeks would be extremely uncomfortable with the sensitivity of my feet. But over the season, my feet would toughen up from walking across rocks. By the end of the summer I could run across them without pain.

I was shocked this morning to learn that vines that produce the best grapes are found in vineyards rooted in rocky soil. I had always imagined that the richer and smoother the soil, the better the grapes and the healthier the vine. Apparently, for the vine to thrive it needs the same thing that you and I need to thrive and grow to produce our greatest fruit…rocky soil…those challenging seasons that make us 'hobble across gravel' and work harder to find our Source of comfort. Those times when our faith is stretched so thin, we are certain that we will never get to the other side.

Some seasons can feel as if the very roots you planted are being ripped out from under you. You yearn for the days of sunny skies beaming down on your life, and fruitful blessings hanging low and reachable on the vine. The stones that you must carry are so heavy that the spiritual muscles give out. You dream of the sunny days when your walk won't be so painful. But in all seasons, the Vine dresser never quits tending to our vineyard. He uses every rock whether it is a pebble or a boulder to work towards future spiritual growth. ‘He keeps shaping and reshaping us from glory to glory, and when living becomes the death of us, He leans over our clay bodies and breathes fresh life into our lungs…He knows the end from the beginning…We are arrows in His hand, and He knows where to land us. He knows precisely what He wants to accomplish in us. With Him, nothing has a haphazard end, no matter how chaotic the means may seem.’ pp. 103-114.

"I am the true vine, and my Father is the keeper of the vineyard.  He cuts off every branch in Me that bears no fruit, and every branch that does bear fruit, He prunes to make it even more fruitful." John 15:5.