Here in Mosbach, surrounded

I can’t get my pictures out of my camera yet – somehow I managed to leave my USB camera cord at home in the states. But this is a beautiful small town nestled in the hills and mountains of Germany, historical and well maintained. Cobblestone streets, gabled shops, lovely fields and even a castle.

Several hundred people are here, mostly young people. There is a sprinkling of us older folks who I can relate to a bit better. The workshops, teaching times and worship are excellent, the food is good and except for my tender foot (twisted it) I’m enjoying the time very much.

The Mill (where I am staying and the meetings are conducted) has a river running under it. After all, it was a working flour mill in the past. The river generates electricity for the Mill, and the excess power is sold to the local electricity grid. I think they should offer a tour of the power plant down in the basement! I like to see how things work…

Today I was taken on a drive to the local castle and a little walking tour of its environs. There is a gift shop with artifacts on display, including suits of armor, weaponry, period clothing, plus postcards and souvenirs. Several members of the family who have owned the castle for generations still live in part of it that I assume has been modernized somewhat. There is a hotel, restaurant, and chapel there also. There are many acres of vineyards and farmland belonging to the castle that you drive through to get to it.

Carol Ann and Mike Poynor were my hosts for this afternoon. Carol Ann is an official tour guide for the area, so she explained some of the history of the place. There are tunnels under the castle grounds (it sits at the top of one of the mountains) that are a military base, off limits to tourists of course! These tunnels have been used for generations and now are controlled by the German military, but you would never even know they are there, just driving along.

My camera told me “Memory card full” when I took the first shot from the balcony at the castle, drat. Carol Ann has some pictures, however, and will share some with me. The photo above is one I found on the internet.

After that we drove into the town of Mosbach, walked a couple of blocks, had cake and coffee at a wonderful little coffee shop, and came back to the Mill. These images, again from the internet, are of the part of town we walked through. Notice, there are no cars – they are in a parking lot a block away. That makes the shopping area pedestrian-only, which is very nice. Click on these photos to enlarge them for viewing. The tall building is the town hall and used to be a church.

That was enough for my achy foot this afternoon but it was a great time. I appreciate so much the Poynors’ kindness and generosity in treating me to this afternoon adventure!

What’s it like, a root out of dry ground? Hmmm. Nutgrass…

Pretty, isn’t it? To most of us in the US, nutgrass is a nuisance in the lawn. It’s not the same as Charleston grass or Centipede. It doesn’t grow in nice, neat, small blades. It’s not easy to manage. Still, one clump is sort of pretty, growing wildly any-which-way.

As I was praying and meditating the other night, Isaiah 53 verse 2 came to mind. “For he shall grow up before him like a tender plant, and like a root out of dry ground…” And then the Lord spoke to me. What does that mean, like a root out of dry ground? Have you ever considered that?

No, I hadn’t. I knew this chapter referred to Jesus, and I’d sort of thought it meant he would die. A root out of dry ground dies, I thought. But then the Lord said to me, Think about nutgrass for a minute. So I did. How does it grow?

I thought some more. Well, it — it grows by spreading underground, actually. It doesn’t just have a single root, it has multiple spreading rootlets. When there is no water, the top root may protrude out of the ground. It appears dead, dry, like that root out of dry ground in Isaiah 53. But it’s not dead. It spreads sideways underground, sending out little rootlets searching for water. When it finds water, then the small root turns downward to the water, and sends another tender plant upward.

That’s what Jesus did, the Holy Spirit said. And that’s what the church is doing. The tender green plant grows, so green and healthy and strong, but if a time comes when for whatever reason it begins to look dead, it really isn’t. It just spreads underground those searching roots, seeking the water again. It will find water, nourishment, strength, and another tender plant will spring up.

Most home owners will tell you, you can’t kill nutgrass! You can pull it up, stomp it flat, cut it off or poison the leaves, but those roots are still underground. You can pull some of them up but you can’t get them all. Sooner or later, it will rise again. Jesus did, and his church does!

You know, I have a different attitude toward nutgrass today.