On a recent walk, I found a bright red leaf. For some people this wouldn’t be a big deal, but in the south there aren’t a lot of extreme fall colors on trees.

So I picked it up and took it home to enjoy!

The next day, though, it started turning brown. I was disappointed. Just a day earlier it had been so bright!

Then I remembered that, until it fell, the leaf had been attached to a branch that was getting nourishment from the trunk of a tree. Once separated from the source of its nourishment, it began to die.

This brought to mind John 15, which includes this verse:

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you abide in me, and I abide in you, you will bear much fruit. Apart from me you can do nothing.”

There it was in front of me. A withered leaf that had separated from its life source.

And here I was, knowing that this happens to me all too often.

Do you ever find yourself cruising along and suddenly realize you aren’t well-connected to your spiritual source? Communication with Him has waivered from not reading the scriptures consistently or not praying/meditating on Him.

Or maybe not even acknowledging Him at all.

Thank God for His grace to forgive us and help us get reconnected to Him!

Every time.