LOVE IS …

By Jean Watts

“Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil;

does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth;

bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. …”

1 Corinthians 13: 4-8 NKJV

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Aug 11, 2022
• ISBN: 9781664271838

Jean Watts

Jean Watts continues her allegory on spiritual growth and change in the Vinedresser’s garden, where love grows and never fails!

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Copyright © 2022 Jean Watts.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are

models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version® Copyright © 1982

by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-6642-7184-5 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-6642-7185-2 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-6642-7183-8 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2022912491

WestBow Press rev. date: 08/09/2022

Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

In honor of Little Mamaw and her love for others.

A new commandment I give to you,

That you love one another;

As I have loved you,

That you also love one another.

—John 13:34 (NKJV)

1

W inter came, and snow covered the earth in tranquil silence. In the woods, the snow softly piled atop branches as it blanketed the ground below. This was a particularly frigid winter. Snow had come and gone many times, leaving patches here and there awaiting the next snowfall.

In a cranny of a particular tree was a weblike cluster, where inside lay tiny eggs protected from the wind. Snow stacked high against the cluster, but inside it was dry, and still, and undisturbed. Whenever the snow briefly melted between snowfalls due to the bright sun shining down on the branch, or a wintry blast blew the snow aside, the cluster would bounce a bit, but inside the eggs were safe and secure, suspended by the weblike fibers holding them.

Eventually, as winter passed and the snow melted, it was not replaced by more. The twittering of birds filled the silence, and patches of earth began to prickle with tiny, green tips of grass poking up for a peek at the weather. Soon the tips would grow into full blades to carpet the woods, making soft beds for creatures to rest upon and give birth to their young.

As sunshine warmed the air, there began to be movement inside the web cluster tucked in the cranny of that particular tree. And soon, there were tiny caterpillars burrowing through the sticky, weblike mass to the outside of the cranny and onto the thick bark of the tree.

Instinctively, and without a sound, they inched their way in different directions to branches budding with tender new leaves. As the caterpillars ate, they seemed to instantaneously grow. They moved about, and when finally full, three of the caterpillars noticed each other.

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Meanwhile, far away in a climate that had never known snow, a beautiful, blue butterfly named Peace and an elegant, yellow butterfly named Joy were beginning a long flight to return to a familiar land. No prodding from one another was necessary as they flew along, for this was their mission. They did not speak to one another at all to conserve energy for the task at hand.

The butterflies would be making their abode this summer in the Vinedresser’s garden, where Joy had once lived. The pair had met late last summer in the vineyard, where Peace had lived. The Vinedresser had brought Joy to meet Peace, and they had received their names from him just before leaving the woods to spend winter in their far-away home.

Peace was sure that there would be encounters with the Vinedresser’s enemy again this summer, but he knew that the Vinedresser would supply all his needs, and he believed that there would be victory in the end. Any that heeded the call of the Vinedresser would be in his garden this growing season, and Peace was happy to continue in the service of the Vinedresser, whom he loved with all his heart.

It would be an exceptionally long and tiring flight. Peace and Joy had been preparing for this journey since they had arrived in their warm, winter home. Peace’s old friend Wisdom and his mate had left the woods before Peace and Joy had made their trip to the beautiful island. Peace wasn’t sure what had happened to them. But he knew that he and Joy must return to the garden, as the stirring within had instructed him to do. He had learned to always be dutiful by heeding the still, small voice, since he had found that it never failed to guide him in the way that he should go. When he was younger, it was easy to ignore the voice by not listening for it, but now that he was mature, he listened and obeyed each time he heard it.

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Back in the woods, the three young caterpillars moved toward each other shyly.

You look like me, one said.

And you look like me, the larger one said to the other.

I don’t look like either of you, the smallest one said, looking down.

Yeah, you’re ugly, the largest one said.

Aw, don’t be mean, the medium-sized one said. We might as well stick together for a while since this is sort of a scary-looking place. They were in a thicket where little sunlight managed to break through the dense branches.

Well, you two can stick together if you want to, but I’m going to see what the world has to offer, the largest one said. He looked at the smallest caterpillar. I don’t need anybody slowing me down.

Do whatever you want to do. We’ll be around if you need us, the medium-sized one said.

You can go too if you want, the smallest one said. Who knows what lies ahead? I probably would slow you down.

I’m not worried about that. I don’t see anything but trees upon trees. This place seems as good as any to me.

Well, whatever seems good to you. I figure I’ll just live wherever I’ve been placed and make do with whatever I’ve been given. When you get tired of hanging around, you can go too.

No problem, Sis, he said.

Sis? Why do you call me that? she asked.

I don’t know. It just came out.

I like it!

And then the two caterpillars went about eating tender leaves.

The large caterpillar inched his way along the branch and started down the tree trunk. Go back, and apologize, something told him. He paused and looked around. They’ll think I’m a pushover if I do that, he said as he stubbornly continued inching his way down the trunk.

As he approached the