My husband and I love watching any sort of series dealing with food and travel.

Salt Fat Acid Heat? Devoured it and bought the book.

Searching for Italy? We planned a trip around the Naples episode.

Somebody Feed Phil? This is inspiring a getaway to Portugal!

Naturally, Napa Valley, California — wine country — has also entered the chat. I loved the trip I took with my mother years ago, but my husband has never been. We’re by no means anywhere near sommeliers rather just abiding by the rule of liking what you like, but we still think this sounds fun.

Give us anything that combines culinary arts + travel and we are ALL in.

This past February, my church did a series called Awaken, centering around abiding; talking about the vine and the branches parable in The Gospels. My ears didn’t just perk up at the thought of a vineyard, but at the end of last year and well into the start of 2023, just about everything I was reading mentioned waiting or abiding – enough to the point that I claimed it as my word for the year.

As part of the series, the creative team developed graphics to share along with a phone wallpaper (that, for some reason, I haven’t changed to this day):

In the middle of August, I listened to an episode of Annie Downs’ podcast, That Sounds Fun. Her conversation with Hosanna Wong gut-punched me as she wrestled with John 14:5:

“So I thought, my friend works in vineyards, maybe she’ll know something. And because I know she has no context of church or this scripture, maybe she’ll help me see something I’ve never seen before. So I call her and I say, “Hey, can you tell me anything about the relationships with the branches and vine? Anything that I don’t know.” Is all that branches need to live really only to be connected to the vine? And she said, “Technically yes, all branches need to live is to be connected to the vine, but really they need a trellis, a structure to help them grow and flourish and stay connected to the vine. Without a structure, the branches will live their lives constantly weighed down.” She said the branches will fight an uphill battle they don’t have to fight. And eventually they’ll grow apart from themselves and then grow apart from the vine. So, really branches need a structure.”

I can’t stop thinking about this.

The next day on August 21, 2023, I wrote this in my journal:

There is TRANSCENDANT STABILITY in your presence, Lord. Reading those words stopped me in my tracks because I think that’s what we’re craving most these days, right? Stability. Not rocking the boat. Calm waters where we can see in front of us; where we know what to expect; where we can see anything coming.

It’s a pipe dream. Impossible. Unless, of course, I change my thinking a bit… the stability is Immanuel: God WITH us. My refuge when trouble is promised. My anchor in the waves.

So, why is all this significant? Because a mere NINE DAYS later, our ground shook when the small business I share with my husband lost our largest client.

This morning, the verse of the day was a familiar love letter; a life-line:

“For the Lord your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will delight in your with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.”

—Zephaniah 3:17

In life according to the world, we tend to focus on what can be seen. (Maybe this is why social media is so popular? Look what I did! Don’t you wish you were me?) Even in John 14:5 with the vine and the branches, we think of leafy largeness, curlicue twists, and sugary fruitiness.

But we really know what’s what, right? It actually all depends on the unseen.

Great vintners know thin hillside soil is among the best for vine growth.

Why? Richer, moister soil doesn’t yield fruit, just a lot of foliage and wood.

Rich, soft, luscious soil is pleasant, comfortable, delectable for growing cereals. Grains adore nutrient-plush dirt! But to abide in the vine and produce more than “a lot of foliage and wood” requires rocky, difficult soil.

In From Vines to Wines, author Jeff Cox notes:

“One reason why steep hillsides are so good for grapes is that erosion has scoured the land to its poorest, stoniest constituents.”

I knew Margaret Feinberg, author of Taste and See would bring this home for me:

“The irony, the paradox:

The lead productive soils for cereals become the most productive for grapes.

OR…

The most valuable crops thrive in the harshest of soils.

All those stones, those rocky areas, serve a profound purpose:

• The stones help drain the soil.
• The stones force the roots to run deep.
• The stones give the grapes their multidimensional taste.

Without the stones…

• The vines can rot.
• The roots run shallow.
• The grapes taste meh.

Perhaps our lives depend on us learning to recognize pain, hardship, suffering, loss, difficulty, the rocks, the stony areas, the places we beg God to remove and they don’t budge…

Maybe God is doing something richer and deeper through those than we ever imagined. Maybe He’s using those to develop greater health and depth and flavor and fruitfulness than anyone thought possible.

Because anyone can be all foliage and wood, but a world-class wine, well, that’s another matter. And one Jesus seems very concerned with.”