Reba and I are sitting in the early morning looking out our slider in Anna Marie Island watching the strong winds blow the palm trees for the second day in a row. It brought to mind for us the coming Sunday, March 29th “Palm Sunday.” The palms we use on that Sunday are a little different than the ones we see from our living room, yet they are very similar in their movement in the winds. On the tall trees, the winds are lifting the palm branches up to an almost upright standing position and they are swaying so mightily you would think that they would break and fall to the ground.
We marvel that since the hurricane that hit the Island just one year ago, most palm trees survived and show little or no signs of damage. So strong, yet how flexible they are. We can learn much about life from observing the palm trees. The palm trees sway when a strong force of wind blows against them. They bend yet they do not break. We at times are pushed by forces that would try to bring us down. We know that God stands with us and His strength keeps us upright. When we look at the lower parts of the palm trees, we can see where the lower palms have dried up and the trees allow them to fall to the earth to become part of the soil and nutrients that will continue to help them grow. At times we must shed those dried parts of ourselves and allow them to fall away, allowing us to grow from the experience, when we get rid of what is no longer beneficial to our souls. The trunk surfaces of the palm trees are both rough and smooth. We at times must be rough on the outside to protect the inside. We must also be smooth so when others allow us to come along side of them, we can share Jesus’ Gospel with them.
As we went out from our lodging and walked through the trees, we saw small palm nuts in clusters in the trees and some that had fallen to the ground and we also saw large nuts, “coconuts,” on the ground and in clusters in the trees. These nuts reminded us how we grow in groups through worship and Sunday School and then are able to go out on our own for Jesus.
As we walked through our neighborhood, we saw many varieties of palms: some fan shaped, others reeds, many large, and many small in size, all created by God. We are like the palms too, all different and yet the same. As God created us, God created the palms.
Palm Sunday will be a very special time for us as we honor Jesus’s entry into Jerusalem with palm branches and the marking of Holy Week.
Blessed are we this day.
Reba and Pastor Gary
Claybanks United Methodist Church 