You’re not stumped

Out of the stump of David’s family will grow a shoot— yes, a new Branch bearing fruit from the old root. — Isaiah 11:1

No one wants a stump. Sure, creative types may use a backyard tree stump for seating or as the base of an outdoor coffee table, but no one buys a home because the front yard stump is exceedingly lovely.

We remove stumps if we can. Now I’m talking both literal and metaphorical stumps. To be stuck, stymied or stopped is not ideal if you ask most people.

This stump Isaiah mentions is allegorical, but the literal works here too. No tree hugger will hear what I’m about to say, but sometimes a stump represents a good thing. Maybe a tree was too big and is now no longer a danger. Foresters see stumps as a sign for surrounding trees to gain needed light and space. Think about a favorite piece of wooden furniture. Your beloved oak, cherry, walnut or pine desk, table, or chair came from somewhere.

Advent is a transition time. Maybe you have wanted something removed in your life. Maybe you haven’t. Either way, there is something coming from David’s family. This something doesn’t stump us. This something presents something new, something wonderful, something growing. And this will bear fruit. Specifically, this will bear fruit for us.

You are not stuck, stymied or stopped because Advent will bring you change. Advent will show or bring you something new.

And yes, I can’t explain it because I don’t know the particulars of your story, but the something new will somehow come from the something old.

PRAYER: Help us move through—and learn from—Advent this year, dear Branch that bears fruit for all of us. Amen.