the fruit of the vine

"This Flower, whose fragrance tender with sweetness fills the air,
Dispels with glorious splendor the darkness everywhere;
True man, yet very God, from sin and death He saves us,
And lightens every load."

We beheld a flower in our home last evening and were intoxicated by its fragrance.
Perhaps some would have simply described it as a lovely Christmas evening with friends. Others would claim the attraction was the glow of Christmas tree or candlelight. Surely the younger set would recount the silly game of "spy on the adults" that #1 Daughter may have instigated. I was particularly fond of the carol-sing around the piano. As Friend #88 buttoned up her red wool coat, she expressed her usual wild enthusiasm over her family's social call. I'm not one to argue with hyperboles, as I use them myself far too regularly. (This is the same friend that calls my living room "The Pottery Barn".) After graciously accepting her compliment though, I knew her sentiments were a response to something bigger than us and our toy-strewn abode.
If I tended a vine only to prove my talents, I would be a self-satisfied and sorry gardener. I would also be so busy tooting my own horn that I would miss the point. By God's grace, may He allow me to tend the vine of my household in order to rejoice in the flower.

"I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth. So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters are anything, but God who causes the growth." (1 Corinthians 3:6-7)

"I am the rose of Sharon, the lily of the valleys." (Song of Solomon 2:1)