You take a walk. The leaves are changing. Some are dry and brown on the ground. You feel a bit sad. Just a month ago the wind made warm music through these leaves. Now winter’s coming. But you know winter won’t stay, so it’s not so bad.

You read in the Bible about the seed that has to die and fall to the ground before it can produce much fruit. You read about how Jesus was rejected, suffered, died, and came back to live a new life. You think to yourself how resurrection is a good thing but you notice there always has to be a death first.

Then you think of that loss, that disappointment, that dream you’ve given up. You think of that hopelessly dead thing. And you remember that first the old leaves fall so the new ones can come later with spring. You remember that there can be no resurrection without a death.

And you sense a teeny bit of encouragement. Your loss, your dead thing, is part of how God has made the world to work. You’re not alone–the whole world goes through this. New things come from death. There’s hope.

You just connected the dots

That’s just an example. What dots are you connecting right now?

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This is Day 11 of 31 Days of Connecting the Dots: make more sense of your life, your world, your hopes and dreams. Subscribe on the right or below and each day will be delivered every morning to your inbox. Visit the Nester to choose from over 1,200 more 31 Dayers.