Walking through the Mount of Olives, you realize how very old the trees are.  Gnarled, twisted, stunted and dead-looking–that’s what my wife and I saw while walking slowly through the Garden of Gethsemene at the foot of the Mount of Olives.  Looking up at a very close distance is the city of Jerusalem, less than a mile away at most. Can you imagine–basically, the same vista Jesus and His disciples had those many years ago  now.   On that Mount of Olives, standing and gazing up at the olive trees, you wonder: ‘are they alive’?  They don’t appear to be.    But upon a closer look you can see, from the sides, from under the soil, from somewhere you wouldn’t necessarily expect, there’s new shoots, new growth, new life coming.  As from Job chapter 14 where poor-old Job is describing an old, cut-down tree(maybe like himself?) that seems hopeless and yet, and yet, ‘new shoots will not fail’.  And then, ‘its roots may grow old in the ground and its stump die in the soil, yet at the scent of water it will bud and put forth shoots like a plant.”  I love that phrase Job uses–‘yet at the scent of water…’  Just the hint of water, a mist of moisture and new life and growth will begin again.  Just a slight increase in humidity and  miracles happen.  Made me think of the little bit I have to offer God in His hands can still do so much.  As a little boy I loved the vinyl record I had with this song on it–“This little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine, let it shine, let it shine, let it shine.” I would play it over and over again and sing along with it if no one was around to hear me.  Only had a little light, only a small amount of water and yet…in Jesus’ hands could light up a whole room!  We’ll talk more about this and an encounter with a woman who needed water…and got a lot more, from Jesus!  You just have a ‘little light’? Don’t feel you can do much for God?  So insignificant a person?  Passed your prime?  Think again…”Yet at the scent of water…” In Jesus’ hands…well, the skies the limit!