Roots and Shoots
A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse,
and a branch shall grow out of its roots.
The Second Sunday in Advent brought Isaiah 11:1-10. Upon hearing it in worship, I reached for paper and pen, doodling through much of the pastor’s meditation on peace. I thought how strange it is that when a thing seems completely gone, done in, and over, that can be exactly the moment when new life springs up. Nearly every big thing worth doing suffers from lost confidence, falters in hope, or sees the path run out. In ten years since interviewing the first clergywoman for my study, a number of undeniable moments of faltering and felling have ensued. But the roots are deep, in their lives and in mine, and something new kept growing.
Today I did a lot of pruning, but my hope lives strong that the work of this book will flourish, and a long life lies ahead.
