I washed the bunches and stripped the ripe grapes from the stems, dropping them into the cooking pot.
The next step was to stir, mash and crush the fruit. As I began the smashing process I was reminded of a line from a devotional in My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers:
If we are ever going to be made into wine, we will have to be crushed— you cannot drink grapes. Grapes become wine only when they have been squeezed.
sometimes everything in me
wants to scream
stop
no more pressure
God You will
crush me beneath
the weight of all this
then His voice an arrow
directly hits the mark
will you walk through
the pain
confess My hand
at work here, now
as I squeeze, release
not just stirred, but shaken
I pause, breathe
and surrender again
12 comments:
Nice extended metaphor
Stirred not shaken! James Bond Christianity! Love this lovely piece -- about the joy of being turned upside down and shaken inside out. It hurts, but it's worth it.
Really good post.
Really good post.
I love Oswald Chambers, and your poem is a lovely reminder of how God works in our lives.
ah the pressure we face surely squeezes some of the goodness out of us, but we oft dont see that in the moment...our grape harvest was nil this year....sad...
It seems God knows JUST how much pressure to apply. (I had read the Chambers book too at one point.)
this is a deeply moving thought... the having to be squished to become wine.. i wish it would go without squishing..but i guess there's no real fruitfulness without a certain suffering..
Terrific use of the metaphor ~ We can be crushed by the weight of pain & challenges but like wine, we can be transformed ~
Like how you used the wine metaphor for crushed... good to come out of it without whine... Smiles
Surrender indeed! This is a perfect poem to express that. What a blessing.
This truly resonates with me as I don't think I would have ever experienced this light without pain even severe pain that IS...
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