During my lunch break I take a walk daily. It’s been really hot, but I find it’s good to put on the headphones, listen to a sermon, and walk for a mile or so.

There is a pomegranate tree that hangs over the side of a fence on my route and I always admire how unique the fruit looks. Today was different. I noticed a fruit had fallen and was laying on the street.

I immediately noticed it was burnt to a crisp! Between the sun, 100 degree temps, and the hot asphalt where the fruit landed, it had been cooked to a crisp. I noticed the fruit that were still connected to the branches were fine and still growing. It was night and day comparison.

Then God reminded me of this verse:

“Live in me. Make your home in me just as I do in you. In the same way that a branch can’t bear grapes by itself but only by being joined to the vine, you can’t bear fruit unless you are joined with me.”

John 15:4 MSG

The times that I feel desperate, alone, even abandoned to my own fears…is when I cut myself from the vine. I begin to look and feel like that photograph!

If you are feeling fearful or alone, connect back to the vine. We were not created to be connected!