I am a dignified dependent

I draw deliverance through my roots in the Deity; Christ

Like a flower to the soil, solidarity to the Spirit whispers wisdom

I am absorbed; inscribed into the wood of the cross

Like the body to blood, cleaving to Christ signifies strength

A life of self is like a cell slaying its own soldiers

It’s autoimmune; it’s a flower severing itself from the soil

I am a dignified dependent in the realm of diligently enslaved self-dictators

 

To cleave can literally mean two opposite things: to cling to something or to cut something away. When referring to cleavers (Galium aparine), which many see as a weed, the first definition is used. Anyone who has encountered cleavers knows how sticky they are, they are like Velcro, sticking to anything and everything! After learning some of the benefits this plant has to offer, I began to walk around my backyard hoping to find it. It was late April and I had no luck but by May 1^st I saw them popping up in several places. Cleavers have an affinity for the lymphatic system but are often times overlooked in favor of more glamourous or potent herbs. Cleavers are very gentle but effective at moving stagnant or sluggish lymphatic fluid. The lymphatic system is crucial to our immune system, it helps get rid of toxins and waste. It transports fluid with white blood cells to the entire body to help fight infections.

While harvesting the stalks, something caught my attention. Unlike most plants, where the base is the sturdiest, cleavers are their weakest and thinnest the closer they are to the ground. The stalks can be thick and hardy and grow very tall but only with the help of their surroundings. When cleavers grow on their own with nothing around them they flop over, unable to stand up straight. Their weak roots cannot support their own weight once they start growing bigger. They are dependent on surrounding foliage and structures to be able to climb high and get strong. They cling to anything that passes by which can be considered a nuisance to many.

Cleavers are the herb of humanity; they can be a glimpse of heavenly design or of human spiritual hunger. Whether they realize it or not, people are incapable of being independent individuals. We desperately look to other people (spouse, child, social group, etc…) to give us value and to other things (jobs, hobbies, lifestyles, substances etc…) to give us purpose. Some will never admit it, some are too engulfed to see it, and others will forever be trying to escape it. But I don’t believe this is necessarily a bad thing. I believe this points to our original design. We were intended to be dependent, created by God to function with His holy and perfect love.

In the beginning when God created the planet, there was one thing He said was not good: to be alone (Genesis 2:18). This is why He created Eve, and when He was done creating He told them to work the land and keep it. We are supposed to find purpose in what we do, in our work and our hobbies, God designed us this way! But, all with the purpose to point us back to HIM! We find purpose in our relationships because they are a reflection of God’s love towards us! God is the source of our purpose, our strength and our value. We can bless others because His life is the one that flows through us. It is gentle, but incredibly effective. The problem is not our tendency to cleave but who, or what, we cleave to. As children of God we are to cleave to Christ, He is who surrounds us and lifts us up with His power. Without Him we fall, alone we are unable to grow and produce anything of lasting value for the world. Dependence to things and people is binding, but dependency to Christ is freeing.

 

-Cleave like the cleavers of the field

-Passive is perfect, with His life

-Weave like Adam did into Eve

 

-Receive His life-giving power

-Merge like marriage, like man to wife

– Cleave like the cleavers of the field

 

-Thieves want your efforts and your strife

-Trust turns trying into triumph

– Weave like Adam did into Eve

 

-Leave your pleas where they can be fixed

-In healing hands not hardened heads

-Cleave like the cleavers of the field

 

-Grieve quickly your death, exchanged for His breath

-Dignified dependent or self-dictator

– Weave like Adam did into Eve

 

-Believe that His hands can sustain

-The great weight of a wilting world

– Cleave like the cleavers of the field

-Weave like Adam did into Eve

-Danae Garriga ©