Thursday, March 29, 2018

A Dried-Up Palm Branch




A lady at Caprock has had this palm branch hanging on her door since Palm Sunday. As I’ve walked by it each day and watched it dry up, so many thoughts have run through my mind. All of those palm branches from the triumphal entry of Jesus were lying forgotten on the road as the week progressed. People’s emotions turned from exultant joy to being terrified, angry, or even murderous. 

But Jesus?  I think those palm branches were a memory he clung to. Have you ever had something sweet happen and immediately entered into a trial?  That happened to me in January 2018. My sister and I went to Pawhuska, Oklahoma to visit the Pioneer Woman’s store and tour her lodge. On our way home, we stayed in Oklahoma City and shopped at the outlet mall. We had a BLAST!!  We talked our heads off and just relaxed. Upon coming home, Andy’s family & I began the journey of my mother-in-law’s cancer. It’s been over two months of treatments, hospital stays, and rehab—with no end in sight. My mind keeps taking me back to that trip with my sister. What a gift!!  

I kind of think Jesus hung on to those waving palm branches as he faced the cross. Those palm branches weren’t a flippant thing—even though the people misunderstood. He knew he would become King after he paid for the sins of the world. Not just a king...the King of Kings.

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