Adventures of Tyler Brantley

As part of my final speech for the program, I decided to write a poem based on Jonh 15. This verse was a part of the structure for my year and was something that we would constantly read over. I wanted the poem to speak about how the fellowship had helped me grow along with the other fellows and how it wouldn’t have been possible without the help of many people in the program. I’m so grateful for how much I have learned this year and what God was able to teach me in such little time. I got to experience so much and believe the Raleigh Fellowship was structured in a way the not only helps you grow in a Cristian community but teaches you how to abide to the vine.

I am sad to have now left Raleigh, NC and moved back to Burke, VA; but what I can say out of experience and trust, these friends that were handpicked by God will not only be known as those that experience the program with me but will be friends that last a lifetime; and a Goodbye is not a goodbye but as said before a “see you later”.

ATTACHED TO THE VINE

Our Father is the gardener,
and Jesus is the vine.

We are the leaves,
the fellows,
held fast to Him,
growing side by side,
yet fed by the same unseen source.

Our host family/ mentors tend the soil,
making space for roots to deepen.

Our director, faithful in the quiet work,
pours nutrients into the vine:
words, wisdom, correction, care.

This year has been pruning,
tender and sharp.
Not in punishment,
but in promise.

For good is the gardener,
and careful is His hand.
He shapes each of us,
and all of us together,
into something we could not become alone.

We are not separate,
we are connected.

Through the same vine,
through the same roots,
through the same grace
that rises quietly within us all.

And still,
I remain attached.

To the source,
to the reason I am able
to become anything at all.

And I thank the vine
for every cut,
every voice that poured into me,
and every person
who helped me grow.

By Tyler Brantley