Gnarled and Broken – Feeling loss after a major life change
Recently I came across a poem I wrote nearly 18 years ago to the day, just 10 days after I had moved to the UK. Part of me was sad I hadn’t found it when I was writing Finding Myself in Britain! But mostly I experienced a rush of poignancy, feeling for that person I was, so new to the UK and feeling stunned with the massive pruning I was undergoing. Everything seemed so strange and hard and different, and knowing that I was here to stay made me aware that I was going to have to send down roots and make this my home.
The poem is based on olive tree – mind you, I’d probably never yet even seen an olive tree – from Psalm 52:8–9: “But I am like an olive tree flourishing in the house of God; I trust in God’s unfailing love for ever and ever. I will praise you for ever for what you have done.”
Hello! 
Hello, Amy. Thank you for your beautiful words I found because of OUR DAILY BREAD. Your devotional, “Training for Life,” and your poem speak to me right where I am. My season is pruning, and there’s comfort in hearing from one who has been there. My aspirations are for writing and speaking, and my life’s fruit, which was dormant for years, is just budding through. I volunteer for Proberbs 31 Online Bible Studies and write a blog, but I am waiting for the doors to open for speaking engagements. Thank you for sharing your heart through words. What a beautiful gift you have! I am praying for you on your journey.
Thank you so much for commenting, Jodi. I fully believe and trust that the Lord will use and redeem all of those years of dormancy – the beauty from the ashes, if they were. The fruitfulness that comes from your roots being sent down into the earth, May the Lord bless you!
This is beautiful. I am thankful that God has and continues to answer this prayer for strong and deep roots. Amen.
Thank you so so much!