New Wine

I am not a consumer of alcohol; however, the process grapes go through to become wine fascinates me. There are six steps in this process: harvesting, pressing, settling, fermentation, aging and lastly the completed wine is poured into the bottle the winemaker chooses.

 In respect to my research of the harvesting through fermentation stage and the type of  grape used this process can take from three to four months. The aging and bottle stages can last as little as a few weeks to many years.

 So, what led to this observation? Recently I been experiencing a different kind of transition that was making me tired mentally. This morning in prayer the Spirit reminded me that I am entering into a new season. What I did in the old season will not sustain me in the new. This preparation is different. It is harder with greater resistance and stretching.

 "No one puts a piece of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch tears away from the garment, and a worse tear is made. Neither is new wine put into old wineskins. If it is, the skins burst and the wine is spilled and the skins are destroyed. But new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved.” ~Matthew 9:16-17 {ESV}

As we enter into spring have you felt like change is coming and you can’t seem to shake it? Yes, transformation [fermentation] does not always feels good but the process can bring forth a new vessel others will benefit from. I plan to endure this season of the unknown with bravery and faith. I encourage you to do the same.

Weekly Reflection

“Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.”~ Isaiah 43:18-19 {NLT}