Whether standing in line at a checkout counter, sitting in a doctor's waiting room, or even waiting for the light to change, one can see visuals of a person's relationship with God. Okay, I'll not get into whether or not it's real or just popular. That's not for me, or you, to judge. But think about it and take note how many times just observing one of the visuals make you think about your own commitment: Crosses, worn in many ways; bracelets with a verse or acronym; bumper stickers, 'honk if you love Jesus'; tattoos with a scripture reference, T-shirts that boldly proclaim Jesus as 'my life saver walks on water'. And many more.
One you won't see (or if you do, please let me know) is the hedge apple. The fruit of what we know as the hedge tree, or osage orange, or various other names depending on where one lives, is pretty useless. You can't eat it. You wouldn't wear it. It's not something you'd put on the bumper of your car, or the front of a T-shirt.
But if I can believe that all things were made by Him; and without him was not anything made that was made (and I DO believe this with all my heart) then I can see Him in even an ugly hedge apple.
It's my own visual of the hedge he puts around me. The strength of the parent plant reminds me how important my hedge of prayers is for our children and grandchildren--our 'fruit' if you will. The heat and the light the wood of a hedge tree produces is a reminder of how I'm to be warm, welcoming safe place for those close to me, and a light to those who seek. And the sparks which are produced by even the slightest whisper of wind, remind me not to 'give up' when life storms come my way, but rather to continue to burn and perhaps start new fires along the way
When the flesh of the lowly hedge apple rots, it reveals the seeds for new growth. Oh, if that can be said of my life.
And to me...that matters.
There's something about hedge balls - they're just so "country." My dad says the cattle love to eat them.
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