The Bamboo

The burned bamboo stand in August

 In August, you heard me lament the cutting and burning of a beautiful, mature stand of bamboo in my front yard. The motivation for the cutting and burning was to rid the area of fleas that were suspected of living in the bamboo. The whole process of “deforestation” of the bamboo took about 3 weeks and left a gaping exposure to the passing world. When I voiced concern to the administrations, they ordered the cut bamboo be trimmed to size to make fencing and I had a semblance of privacy again, for which I was grateful.

But one thing that I know about bamboo is that it is fast growing. That was my only comfort during the cutting process. The rains came in November and the bamboo began to grow again. I watched with fascination as the shoots sprung up almost overnight and began to mature into saplings and then a young stand of bamboo. At first, the charred sticks stood among the new growth. The new shoots grew among the destroyed remains and gradually overtook the old stalks.  By Christmas, I had shade again from the ever-growing bamboo. No, it is not yet mature, but each day it is expanding and filling in. It has swallowed the fence in its growth, so that the fence sticks of bamboo can no longer be seen, lost among the green of the growing forest in my front yard.

New growth just 4 months later

As I daily watch this replenishing, I am reminded of what God does in his creation and in our lives. Among the charred remains of the destruction that we bring, he brings life and new growth. He renews and strengthens. He refreshes and redirects. He does that with plants and trees. The Bamboos is testimony to that. I remember seeing the same new growth happen in Yosemite National Park in California after a forest fire destroyed acres. He does it in our personal lives when situations deteriorate and dreams and hopes die. That is certain the cases for me, having to leave Malawi but finding new hope and dreams here in Rwanda. He does it with nations. I look at the reconciliation and rebuilding that has happened and is happening here in Rwanda after the genocide. There is new life everywhere.

As I listened to a PCUSA webinar about the fighting and destruction happening in South Sudan, I looked out my study window on my growing bamboo grove. I prayed for the folks facing the disaster there. I prayed for the God of life to intervene and bring new life to such a desperate situation. I am confident that God can work his miracles of life there as he has in Rwanda. That is my prayer and my trust. The bamboo is a witness to that truth.