Friday Five: Word Association

Below you will find five words. Tell us the first thing you think of on reading each one. Your response might be simply another word, or it might be a sentence, a poem or a story.

1. vineyard

Hmmm... first thought that comes to mind is my favourite workplace: the vineyard into which my Savior has sent me, and where I am privileged to serve His people. Second thought, of course, is Virginia Wines... yum... :-)

2. root

The Root of my Being... my Lord Jesus, His Father, and Our Lady Sophia. These roots strike deep and wrap lovingly about the heart...

3. rescue

Oddly enough, makes me think first of my Dad, who was a radioman in the Coast Guard during WW2... but theologically speaking, rescue of course leads to thoughts of salvation. Rescued by grace, and saved...

4. perseverance

That lovely old poem, "Don't Quit"; Daddy had it hanging on the wall over his desk, and from time to time I have either thought of this poem as a lifeline in time of trouble--an inspiration, if you will--or a supreme annoyance, much like St. Hildegard's repetitive but true "all will be well, and all will be well, and all manner of thing shall be well..." *g* Here's the poem (author apparently unknown):

When things go wrong, as they sometimes will,
When the road your trudging seems all uphill,
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh,
When care is pressing you down a bit
Rest if you must, but don't you quit.

Life is queer with its twists and its turns,
As everyone of us sometimes learns,
And many a failure turns about
When they might have won, had they stuck it out.
Don't give up though the pace seems slow,
You may succeed with another blow.

Often the struggler has given up
When he might have captured the victors cup;
And he learned too late when the night came down,
How close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems so far;
So stick to the fight when your hardest hit,
It's when things seem worst that you must not quit!

5. divided

Hmm... the obvious ones come up first: divided loyalties, divided cities (Berlin...), divided families or friends... a house divided... but there's a lot of proto-positivism in this word. Jesus DIVIDED the bread and gave it to His disciples. He DIVIDED the loaves and fishes, and fed the five thousands. DIVIDED highways make for faster commutes, implying as they do more lanes in each direction... :-)

I guess the lesson there is, it's all in how you choose to look at things. Glass half full, or half empty? I have decided to champion it being half-FULL! So I can divide the contents among my friends, and share!

Happy Friday, y'all!

Blessings,
Sharon+