Bamboozled

As I awoke one morning I had a vivid image of bamboo.
You might say I was bamboozled in the sense of being mystified, 

and I wondered what the Spirit of the Lord

might be saying...

my image looked something like this--five short pieces of bamboo;
five in scripture refers to God's grace 

so I googled the question: What does bamboo mean?

I clicked on this link on wiki.answers.com: 
"What does bamboo symbolize in Japanese culture?"

                 The answer: Strength of character

Wiki explanation:

     "Whenever there is a storm,

     trees are broken, destroyed,

     no matter how big they are,

     they cannot resist the force of the wind.

     Even the strongest trees are like a toy for strong winds.

     The bamboo isn't. Bamboo bends,

     it flexes, nearly touches the floor, but never breaks.

     It resists the storms, the strongest winds.    
  Yet, it keeps its delicate structure.  

I cut bamboo at my parent's house that day and made a floral arrangement 

 Like the bamboo is a good man's character.

A man can undergo hard, difficult, tough times,

for which he must adapt, but must never break,

never lose his sense of self.

A man must keep his essence

now matter how bad the world is treating him."

  

That's how a woman of peace needs to be--

bending, flexing, resisting, never breaking,

yet keeping her delicate and true femininity.

Grace & peace be with you,

Sheila