Words of Faith: Lilies, resiliency and trees

As we reach the end of the shortest month of the year, the season is already gliding to longer, ever warmer days. The soil is waking back up, from its brief (in S.C. anyway) winter rest.

For Jewish people (like me), the holiday of Tu B'Shevat has just passed, honoring the new year and the “birthday for trees.” There are all kinds of new years if you think about it. The secular calendar year starts Jan. 1, the school year for our kids starts in August, each of us have our own birthday year, and corporations have their fiscal years. So, for trees to have a birthday is not so out of line.

Tu B'shevat translates as “the fifteenth of Shevat.” It’s just the date in the Hebrew calendar month of Shevat, rather like the Fourth of July. The holiday started after the times of Torah, about 500 BCE. It was originally observed as a time to pay taxes (or tithe) on one’s fruit trees. As with all things, the customs have evolved over the centuries, but are still rooted in the history of our connection to the earth. Modern Jews observe Tu B'Shevat as a sort Arbor or Earth Day, planting trees, and working together on conservation of this planet which graces us with life. Often, we gather as a community to enjoy a special meal featuring the biblical seven species – grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives, dates, wheat and barley.

Observing and celebrating the return of spring, and the renewal of the earth is an example of the resiliency of life from which we can draw strength. Those little green shoots of crocus, daffodil (and radishes for the vegetable gardener) remind us that no matter how dark and cold things may seem, our world will always turn and bring us to a new season.

And as the spring rains and warming temperatures renews life for our trees and gardens, faith does the same for us. No matter how harsh the events in our lives, God walks beside us. Faith and prayer let us find strength within ourselves to overcome challenges.

I have yet to find any writings where God promised us that life would be simple or fair. I do believe, based in part on Psalm 23, that God is with us in challenging times, comforting us and leading us to still waters where we can restore ourselves for the struggles and challenges that life sends our way.

We can be just as resilient as the spider lilies at Landsford Canal in Lancaster – surviving through flood and drought, and renewing themselves each year. The lilies may not come up in exactly the same place, as they adapt to a changing riverscape, but they do come up. And we can too. Between ongoing conversations with God and the support of our community, we find our way through darker days. We will adapt, find a new balance, and emerge into a new season.

This story was originally published February 27, 2017 at 1:55 PM with the headline "Words of Faith: Lilies, resiliency and trees."