SOMEONE TO HOLD ONTO

A dozen Italians stood in line at the winery to greet my husband and me for a private tour. 

“Buongiorno!” They said in unison.

“Uh, hello?” I responded, a little overwhelmed by the large welcoming committee.

Then, as if on cue,  my skirt -one size too big -dropped straight to my ankles.

Isn’t that the way life goes sometimes?

Everything falls down into a heap when you least expect it, exposing that you can’t hold it all together on your own.

That day, God’s mercy was handed to me in the shape of a paper clip I accepted from a kind, wrinkled hand that motioned me to the bathroom. 

Once there, I did what I could to reassemble my dignity and hurried to rejoin my husband.

The vineyard owner led us down a long row of foliage heavy with fruit and lovingly laid his hand on the centuries-old vine that his people had relied upon for countless years. 

“Here,” he said in broken English, “is where my family’s life began."

As he continued up the path, I paused to lean against that ancient vine and feel the weight of his statement. 

Vibrant hills rolled for miles, as far as the eye could see, a testimony to the source of the vineyard’s true beginning that now stood before me, too great to wrap my arms around.

Surely, the ground had shifted, the sun had scorched, and maybe even a skirt or two had fallen throughout the generations.

But to all who depended on that vine, it remained immovable and life-giving, faithful to provide all they needed.

Jesus Christ declared that He was the truest vine of all.

“I am the true vine, and My Father is the keeper of the vineyard.

(John 15:1, BSB)

The life that flows through Him will sustain us on this earth and throughout eternity.

Why would we cling to anything else, but Him?

***

"Why do you like Jesus so much?" my four-year-old granddaughter asked me one day.

Because He alone holds me all together.