Keep Watering in Hopes of New Life

Last updated on: August 1, 2021 at 1:50 pm by Paul Louis Metzger

Keep Watering in Hopes of New Life 2021-08-01T13:50:33-07:00 Paul Louis Metzger

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We have experienced scorching heat several days this summer. As a result, one or two plants in our yard have died. Other foliage has not yet recovered from sun shock. One or two forms of vegetation didn’t even get that far. They never emerged from winter hibernation. One of those dormant-gone-dead garden victims was a flowering plant, or so we thought.

Yesterday, my wife Mariko shared the good news that the flowering plant we thought was dead is alive. She had been watering plants nearby day in and day out, not even thinking about the wood box in which a few old gray stubs from last year’s plant remained. Unintentionally, water from the hose fell in the wooden coffin. Lo and behold, after not seeing anything for months, our flowering plant has returned! Mariko was thrilled, and so was I.

It got Mariko to thinking about our son Christopher, who has been bed-ridden since January on account of suffering a traumatic brain injury. We’ve heard our fair share of premature prognoses that our son would forever remain dormant and never gain consciousness. While we do not know the future, or to what extent he may recover, we have not lost hope. After all, as I have noted many times before, time is the ultimate prognosis, as our medical consultant has shared.

Mariko drew upon the image of the dormant plant that has now sprouted green leaves. Effortlessly, she applied it to Christopher’s no longer dormant and now minimally conscious state, which manifests itself at times in response to prompts. “So, we’ll keep watering.”

We hope the flowers will return and accompany the green leaves of the once dormant plant growing in our garden. We’ll keep watering it. We’ll also keep watering our son with words, with prayers, with a gentle, loving touch. Who knows? He just might flower again.

Thank you for showering our son and family with your caring prayers, compassionate thoughts, and sacrificial gifts.

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About Paul Louis Metzger

Paul Louis Metzger, Ph.D., is Professor of Theology & Culture, Multnomah Univeristy & Seminary; Director of The Institute for Cultural Engagement: New Wine, New Wineskins; and Author and Editor of numerous works, including Evangelical Zen: A Christian's Spiritual Travels with a Buddhist Friend and Setting the Spiritual Clock: Sacred Time Breadking Through the Secular Eclipse. You can read more about the author here.

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