Lectio Divina Out Loud: A Sunny Day on the Vine

Erika Dix ponders Jesus' invitation to be at peace while in chaos.

“Remain in me, as I remain in you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me.” (John 15:4)

I am sitting on my patio. The sky is blue with hardly any clouds, the grass and trees are green, the birds are singing, the breeze is cool and the sun is warm. I always feel at peace here, on my patio, so I look forward to the day every spring when the table and chairs come out, and I cry a little every fall when the table and chairs are put away.

Peace is what is needed right now. Peace in our world, peace in our country, peace in our house. My family and I are not in turmoil; it is just the end of the school year chaos that I am sure a lot of moms are feeling right now (or will in a month if your school year does not end early like ours does).

To remain in Jesus sounds easy, right? Not unless we know what it means to remain in Him. A quick Google search brought up many articles on this verse and what it means. "To be fully connected to Jesus and allow Him to give us our life force to sustain us" pretty much sums them up. As a mom, it means not only putting ourselves on the vine, but also all our loved ones. Even if they do not want to be there. We cannot imagine not sharing with others the life force that we receive from the vine. When we see our loved ones struggling, we want to grab hold of them and try to attach them to the vine (maybe sometimes strongly, I will admit) because we know it will help them as much as it has helped us.

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This is the hardest part: seeing our loved ones not as interested in remaining in Jesus, knowing that they would bear the most fruit if only they grafted onto the vine. I have many in my life who are attached to the vine, yet their attachment can be weak at times. Now, I do not claim to have a very strong attachment to the vine all the time, but I have noticed that when I struggle, Jesus is not very far away from me. I feel as though I can step right back on to the vine and feel like I am remaining in Him, especially through prayer.

The end of the school year chaos that I spoke of earlier brings on many struggles, especially now that my littles are big kids. And I feel that the next verse sums up what those struggles need.

“I am the vine, you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5)

The fruit that is being spoken of is not material wealth, success or even good grades. It is about how we treat others and our own behaviors and attitudes. Do we turn to Jesus for our consolations and guidance, or to the world? Do we try to control or manipulate the situation, or do we rely on Jesus’ loving connection to better understand what is needed? Without Jesus, it is so easy to slip back into what we can do, rather than what He can do through us. Part of that is also knowing that Jesus loves our loved ones too, and is reaching out to them as much as He is reaching out to us. We can share the fruit of Jesus’ love with them to encourage that connection to the vine, and as moms, allow it to grow stronger on its own.

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Without Jesus, it is so easy to slip back into what we can do, rather than what He can do through us. #CatholicMom

Sitting in my backyard surrounded by all the new spring growth, feeling this peace, it is easy to remain in Jesus and attach myself firmly to the vine. I plan on soaking up all the vine’s juices so that when I step back into my house that is filled with chaos, I will know that I can bear so much more fruit with Him. And you are all welcome to join me on the vine, or patio, whichever is easier for you.

Prayer: Jesus, please remain in me, so that it will be much easier to remain on my branch. Please remind me of how You love my family even more than I do. I look forward to all the delicious fruit we will bear together.

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