Under the Fig Tree

Devotion for the Week...

Last week's devotion was about Philip going to find Nathanael so he could bring him to meet Jesus. Today I want to look at Nathanael's reaction to his first meeting with Jesus. Let's start by reading John's account of it:

"As [Philip and Nathanael] approached, Jesus said, 'Now here is a genuine son of Israel—a man of complete integrity.'
'How do you know about me?' Nathanael asked.
Jesus replied, 'I could see you under the fig tree before Philip found you.'
Then Nathanael exclaimed, 'Rabbi, you are the Son of God—the King of Israel!'" (John 1:47-49).

I have to admit, I never thought much of these couple of verses. If anything, I figured Nathanael was amazed by Jesus' ability to see beyond His physical surroundings and that impressed Nathanael enough to make him understand that Jesus was who He claimed to be. But this summer I read a devotion that wondered about the significance of the time Nathanael spent sitting under that fig tree. Was there something deeper going on, something that made Jesus' words more than just a simple statement of "I could see you"? That made me think of my father-in-law and a story I heard him tell several years ago.

I don't know the circumstances, but there was a time when he was feeling really down and he sat in his chair and prayed, "God do you even know where I am and do you even care anymore?" Twenty minutes later he got a phone call from a man who said he had been in prayer and God gave him a message.

"What's the message?" my father-in-law asked.

"God wanted me to tell you He does know where you are, He does care for you and He wants to bless you."

I don't think there's anything that could make a person feel more seen by God than getting a direct and immediate answer to such a cry.

Was Nathanael feeling something similar to my father-in-law as he sat under the fig tree? Did he feel alone, as if God didn't even care anymore about whatever it was he was facing? If so, then Jesus' statement that He could see Nathanael sitting under the fig tree would have conveyed a deep reassurance that went way beyond the words we read.

I don't know what you're facing today, but I do know that God knows where you are. In the midst of our hardest days, when we feel alone and like no one cares, He sees us and He cares deeply for us.

Background is my Blowing in the Wind quilt.

1 Peter 1:7 says, "Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you." Even if your worry is that He doesn't care anymore, give that to Him, too. He doesn't get angry or offended when we feel that way. He simply wants us to cry out to Him so He can give us the reassurance we need.

True North Bee Blocks for October

This month's True North bee blocks were so fun and quick to make!

Karin asked for 8 ½" Rasberry Kiss blocks, using the tutorial from Wooden Spoon Quilts. She asked for three blocks, all with low volume x's and grey for the rest. She also said she loves solids and text prints, but isn't big on florals. When I went rooting through my grey fabrics, I discovered an abundance of solids, so I used a different solid in each block. I know I have a white or cream text print, but I couldn't find it anywhere, so I couldn't use it.

This grey print is left over from making my Divided quilt and I love that the lighter of the greys in it is almost the same as the Kona shadow I used for the inner squares.

This outer grey is Kona graphite, which I know only because previous-me had written the colour name along the selvedge edge, which is also how I knew the one in the block above was Kona shadow. Smart! I wonder who gave me that idea? I can just vaguely remember reading it as someone else's tip, but I don't remember who it was. The grey print is scraps from making myself a pair of pajama shorts as my first garment sewing project, back in 2015, using the book Love at First Stitch. The white print in the x is a scrap given to me by my friend Michelle, cut off the edge of her quilt backing when she finished quilting. She knows I can't resist even long, narrow scraps 😊

I think this block is my favourite. I had to message Karin to ask if the outer grey fabric was too floral for her taste, but she said it looks modern and was happy for me to include it. It was one of the many fabrics donated as quilt backings for the quilt block drive a couple of years ago. I've stashed the long, narrow pieces left over from trimming the quilt back after quilting because it's just too pretty not to use. The grey solid is a Northcott fabric. I love the swirly white print, but I have no idea where it came from. I do know it has been in my stash for a long time and there's not much of it left after making this block.

Next month will be my turn and I'm excited to soon share the block I've designed to have my bee mates make. I think it'll make a great scrappy quilt.

Witnesses

Devotion for the Week...

Years ago, Paul and I watched the show The West Wing and loved it. Now we're watching it again with our two older boys and I'm loving the anticipation of certain episodes and scenes when I know what's coming, but the boys don't.

There is one scene that has stuck with me since the first time I watched it, from an episode near the beginning of season two. It's not one of the most dramatic scenes or one of the funny ones. It's not even an important scene, really. The two-part episode is full of flashbacks that show how the various characters came to be part of the staff while now-President Bartlett was still campaigning for the nomination. In one of the flashbacks, Josh is invited to go hear Governor Bartlett speak and on the way he stops to visit his friend Sam. Before he leaves, Josh asks Sam "If I see the real thing in Nashua, should I tell you?" Sam responds by saying, "You won't have to. I'll see it on your face." The scene that has stuck with me for years is when Josh returns to Sam's office, where Sam is in a meeting, and stands outside the door, grinning and pointing to his face. Sam, of course, understands and leaves his meeting immediately to go with Josh and join the campaign.

That scene is always what I think of when I read John 1:43-45: "The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, 'Come, follow me.'...Philip went to look for Nathanael and told him, 'We have found the very person Moses and the prophets wrote about! His name is Jesus, the son of Joseph from Nazareth.'” I picture Philip standing in front of Nathanael, grinning, because he knew that Jesus was 'the real thing.'

Like Philip, we have found Jesus and now we can share Him with others who need Him. Jesus said to His disciples, "you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth" (Acts 1:8).

Witnesses don't have to have special degrees in theology. They don't have to be skilled public speakers or teachers. They don't need any special qualifications at all, actually. They simply need to share what they have witnessed. Josh told Sam that he had found a good candidate for president. We can tell people about Jesus' offer of salvation, about the love of God that provided a way for us to have a relationship with Him, about healings that we have seen or experienced in our own lives.

I couldn't resist using my newest Night Sky quilt for the background again this week 😊

We have the privilege of telling others about Jesus, so what have you witnessed? Who can you share that with?