Bending the Willows
Theology in the Trenches
by Kathleen Kjolhaug
The unknown often creates curiosity. As a child, the bended bowing Weeping Willow Trees sparked within me curiosity.
Who could be so lucky as to own one of those…came the thought. They appeared to be of poetic grace-filled stature barring none. Often times a lawn chair or two would appear beneath them as summer breezes enveloped those whimsically sitting beneath the Weeping Willow.
Who could ask for more is what I used to think.
“They’re a mess!” spoke the owner of such riches. “They have all this white stuff that floats off the tree and it gets all over everything! It’s on the lawn, it’s on the house, and it’s a mess!”
I had no idea! I thought the way the branches hung all wispy-like were signs of a weepy movement. Who knew it gave off a form of tears representing so much sorrow to others?
Yet, captivating to this day is the furniture made from willows. I now know there is a difference in willows. Willow selected for furniture is different than the willow tree planted in one’s yard.
People hunt for willow branches used for the making of furniture.
When such a treasure is found, branches are not only cut, but soaked, and bent to form that which the artist desires to create. The homemade chair or table with their curving movements always struck within me a voice which beckoned…come tarry a while.
Much like the willow tree, the crafted curves of the furniture made from the coveted branches appeared to offer a place of pause…so much so that even the craftsmen when photographed, appear prayerfully serene.
I suppose when one is doing the forming of this craft, one cannot do so without bending low. And the item being formed must be soaked in the waters.
Perhaps, like us, the sticks are rather stiff at first. They are rigged in their ways. Once soaked in water, the formation process of being transformed by the maker...begins.
Much like the willow or the furniture being made from it, He leads us beside still waters restoring our souls (Psalm 23). Eventually, over time, those waters transform us. It’s a process. A process created by the Creator who not only bent low but bowed low on bended knee. He soaks us in the Truth of living waters to make us not only pliable but in order to transform us into His image, the image of Christ Jesus our Lord.
Amen.
