Parable 34 - Fluttering

He wasn’t exactly surprised, but her story did catch him off guard.

Garret’s wife, Evelyn, had confessed to him that she had been having an affair. She said it was over.

Garret struggled to believe her. His mind raced. Should he divorce her? Did he still love her? What would happen to the kids if they got divorced? Should the kids be told? Who was she having the affair with?

Garret had a sense of who it probably was. His disappointment had tinges of red-hot anger, but mostly he felt depressed. Over time, he realized that he was partially responsible for the affair. He didn’t like to dance. He didn’t like to go to new restaurants. He wasn’t interested in being part of a book club, or a gardening society, or a wine tasting group. She loved all that. In many ways, he had kept her from doing what she loved.

Evelyn’s confession was a teary-eyed story of how she had almost taken her own life. She told Garret, “I ended the affair months ago, but I felt so ashamed. One day I was walking along the cliff by the lake, and I had an overwhelming desire to jump down to the rocks and end my life. I would have done it, but my attention was captured by a bird chirping in a tree. When I looked at the tree to find the bird, some leaves fell off in the breeze and fluttered to the ground. I thought that I was somehow like those fluttering leaves. My mistakes, my infidelities, were falling to the ground. I had separated from the tree of our marriage. At that instant, I knew that new leaves would grow next year. Maybe there was hope for our marriage.”

One day, Garret was standing in a store, remembering all that his wife had said. He looked down and saw a mug that caught his attention. Yes, that was the one. He picked up the mug from the shelf, took it to the checkout counter, and paid for it. When he got home, he put it in a bright yellow bag and tucked in a note for Evelyn.

That evening Evelyn found the bag on their bed. She pulled out the note, which read:

“Evelyn, we have both made mistakes. I am sorry I haven’t been a better husband for you. I forgive you for what you did, but I never want to talk about it again. I am grateful that you came back to me. In the coming years, I hope we will have new growth to shade us. May this mug always remind you of the moment you chose to come back to me. Love, Garret.”

She pulled the mug out of the bag, took one look, and burst into tears. The mug had a picture of a bird in a tree with its leaves fluttering to the ground.

Meditation

In our scripture today, the woman caught in adultery is ultimately not condemned by the assembled crowd, and not by Jesus. We can safely assume that those gathered recognized that they were not without sin, so they had no right to throw the first stone. And Jesus, who was without sin, chose not to condemn her.

It is one thing to read this Bible story and be inspired. There is a lot going on in the scripture story that we can understand intellectually. But it is quite another thing to have something devastatingly painful inflicted upon us by another person and not want revenge, to be open to forgiveness, and to want what is best not only for ourselves, but for that other person as well.

Garret and Evelyn’s relationship was able to grow because of their mutual desire to love each other. Many marriages are not this fortunate.

Garret agreed to do a little bit of dancing with Evelyn, and they joined the wine club. Evelyn sat with Garret occasionally as he watched sports, even if she was reading a book while sitting with him.

Go ahead and consciously nurture your family tree. Try to be forgiving, ever loving, and not condemning. When the leaves flutter off the tree, remember new ones will soon be growing.

Water the seed and ask yourself...

In what way is my life fluttering?