Reflection and Hope

What more was there to do for my vineyard that I have not done in it?

When I expected it to yield grapes, why did it yield wild grapes?

And now I will tell you what I will do to my vineyard.

I will remove its hedge, and it shall be devoured;

I will break down its wall, and it shall be trampled down.   Isaiah 5: 4-5

Harvest             Duc De Berry    Samur, France

 

The prophet Isaiah tells the tale of his friend who worked hard at planting a new vineyard:: tilling the soil, removing the stones, planting the vines…. But, alas, when the vines finally started producing fruit, they did not produce the luscious, sweet grapes his friend had envisioned; it produced sour, wild grapes. So, vengefully, he vowed to tear it down, to let it be trampled and ultimately, be destroyed.

Life is full of disappointments. Our children may not turn out the way we hoped, or our career paths may have swerved of the beaten track. Our fortunes may have grown and then waned out of existence.  And our health, similarly. How do we deal with disappointment in our lives? How do we respond to unmet expectations?

We have two choices. We can trample down and destroy all that we have strived for, and reap bitterness and regret all our days, or we can turn and reflect and try to understand what happened, and learn from the experience. Bitterness and regret? Or reflection and hope? Where in your life do you harbor pain and bitterness? What does it cost you? And how might you leave that path behind and choose the better way?

I lift up my prayers.