your wine

Today we read from 2 Chronicles 21:1-23:21 in the One Year Bible. We are told that "Jehoshaphat died, and he was buried with his ancestors." So go we all, right?

He got in the Bible, which is more than you or I can say. But you and I can say SOMETHING. And that's the point of today's blog. What will you leave behind?

Here's something cool about our short walk around the stage of the world: you get to leave something behind. Some of us will leave little versions of ourselves - aka children - who will carry our thoughts and weaknesses and faith and doubts into the future generations. And that's awesome. That's kind of like being grapes, and leaving your seeds behind in the soil for new grapes to grow.

But there's another thing grapes can do. If you press them, they produce juice. And that juice, once bottled and left to undergo its magic for a bit, turns into wine. Wine which can last a very long time, and might even get better with age.

You and I can produce that wine, too. How, you might ask? Well, the juice that we produce when we're squeezed is our words. Some of us leave words in song (Tom Cottar, Shaune Martinez, Bruce O'Leary, Stephen Adams... I'm looking at you.) Some leave words in books. Some leave words in the ears of their friends and family that they will continue to hear, in your voice, for as long as they live.

What words will you leave behind? What wine will your life produce?

God, thanks for giving us the opportunity to leave a nice vintage wine for those who come after us.