Julie Lavender

CONSIDER THE YAUPON
by Julie Lavender

Tucked under layer after layer, I braved the just-below freezing temperatures for another winter’s walk. My hubby didn’t require quite as many layers; he’s braver than me.

My little corner of the deep-south had already seen more frigid weather in the few short days of 2018 than the entire winter season just last year.

The green shrub bedecked with red splotches caught my eye, and I first thought it was a holly bush. Closer inspection, though, told me it wasn’t, and I sequestered my biologist husband for an explanation.

“Ilex vomitoria,” said David.

“Ew. Does it mean what I think it does?”

“Yep. We’ll look it up when we get home.”

The Yaupon

This beautiful evergreen plant with its brilliant red fruit is more commonly called 'yaupon' and comes from the same family as the ornamental holly often used in Christmas decorations.

Food for many

The translucent berries ripen in late fall, but cling to the branches throughout the winter and early spring, making them a great food source for a variety of birds. Sometimes armadillos, black bears, gray foxes, raccoons, and skunks nibble the berries, and white-tailed deer snack on the leaves and small branches. 

Ewwww

Still, that didn’t answer the whole ‘vomit’ part of the scientific name, so I dug further in my research. My hubby thought he remembered the answer from his school days, but we looked it up to be sure.  

Turns out, the plant that grows mostly in the south, from Maryland down to parts of Florida and across to Texas and Oklahoma, was often used by Native Americans to brew a ceremonial tea, called ‘black drink.’ The leaves and stems bear emetic properties when brewed and resulted in regurgitation.

Native Americans dispensed the brew to induce vomiting for medical reasons and for use during purification ceremonies.

Brilliant red fruit                                

                          and

                                   new life                                                                                            

Such a beautiful bush – lush green leaves that boast life during the otherwise barren winter time, garnished with bright red berries throughout – with a name that rolls off the tongue in a rather grotesque way.

God calls me to consider the yaupon shrub and reminds me of the wooden cross that held his Son so many years ago. The blood of Jesus, splattered on that tree, makes me pure and gives me new life.

A simple, “Yes, Jesus; I believe” purifies me, no ceremony required.

I like the common name, ‘yaupon,’ much better than the scientific one. But the visual reminder of Jesus’ blood stains on His cross, my life-giving tree, remains the same by any name.

What about you? Did you see anything unusual on your winter walk with God this week? 

Was there one of God's creations specifically that reminded you of new life with Christ?

Let me know in the comments below about your walk with God; I plan to pray for each step of your journey along the way.