A Life of Austerity and Softness

I took a walk, and I don’t know what possessed me to stop at a certain moment, but I did and was instantly drawn to a single strand of Broomsedge grass. The words filled my head, a life of austerity and softness. In fact, I wasn’t sure the words weren’t audible. In my first reaction, I thought, Lord, are you speaking to me right now? My second reaction was how strange it was for these two words to be brought together, because they’re descriptive antonyms. They have opposite meanings. Austere refers to a lack of warmth, color, or empathy, while softness conveys comfort, richness, and compassion. And then, why am I looking at this stalk of Broomsedge? Why did I climb over a high-banked ditch to get to it?


There must be a message here. I studied the stalk. Then I heard the words I knew were from a certain verse in the Bible. Fortunately, I had my phone with me, so I looked them up.

 

~James 1:2-3: “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.” (NIV)

 

That’s about right, I thought, as I also considered the plant. I knew that Broomsedge grass is tough stuff. It’s also called “poverty grass” in some places, and it thrives in droughts and poor-quality soils, and it’s resilient. Austere. Typically, it comes up in unintended landscapes. But it also provides cover and nesting material for wildlife, and seeds for little birds when winter food sources are scarce. Soft.


Suddenly I saw my own life represented in that stalk. So I plucked it and carried it back to my house. I thought about how much we live according to seasons. It was like the stark smooth sections, the sheaths of the plant, stood for the hard and stern (austere) periods of our existence on earth. While the soft tufts, the hairy awns, represented the more pleasurable times. And then, as a believer, perhaps there was a period or two (or three) when I went off course of God’s will for my life, as embodied by the little blades jutting away from this stalk (my path).

 

We often look at life as a roller-coaster with ups and downs, but I think I prefer to view it now as filled with both austerity and softness as symbolized by this plant. Nobody is excluded. We live in a fallen world, and we will face both trials and pleasures, severity and gentleness; we live by seasons. If we can count it as joy, to live steadfast by faith no matter what section of life, or season, we’re currently in, hopefully we’ll produce perseverance by it, such as our stem of Broomsedge has done here.


I was then struck by the beauty of a plant I’d probably always ignored up until now. I didn’t get enough, so I went back out and focused on a clump of them, like a like-minded community. When the breeze came, they all bowed. Not by burden, I like to think, but in unified worship of a Creator who speaks and speaks and speaks. There is no end to the ways or manner of his loving voice.

 


The one stalk I plucked, I placed in a “reminder” cup of other collections from my walks… a Wild Turkey feather, a red-tailed hawk feather, a pale Luna Moth, an Eastern Bluebird egg, etc. Then I looked up more about Broomsedge, and the first thing I read was how the plant is often used in restoration projects because it can stabilize the ground and help control erosion. After a lifetime of austerity and softness, looking back and in going forward, I hope my life serves its overall purpose in restoration, in rootedness, and with healing strength. Maybe the Lord will have me pop up in someone’s unintended landscape one day, and they can see through me, the evidence of his joy, faith, and perseverance. (I now appreciate better that God created Broomsedge).

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