Hey all! Here we are, in June already! Last month was filled with fun, crafting, and new beginnings. June has already started out wonderful with the promise of a busy, yet fun-filled month. God's blessing in my life are so abundant and He truly amazes me. I will try to do a little catch up soon :)
Today, is a special treat! I have Mrs. G {a long time family friend and basically a second mom to me} doing a guest post! She has a gift for words and as you will read, is great comparing everyday things to God working in our lives.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Late spring is the time to prune and fertilize rhododendrons around my area. It is a chore I often put off, because if not done correctly and exactly the right time, there will be no flowers the following year. Consequently, most of my rhodies are overgrown. In fact, the area underneath the giant shrubs is very grotto-like and mysterious. The cats often sit quietly there, peering out at unsuspecting tweety birds that might venture near. Because no light penetrates the canopy, not even weeds grow—a small side benefit. I decided this was the year I would get my rhodies under control. They have grown too large for their beds, too near the house, and the siding is suffering.
I sharpened up the pruners, donned leather gloves and surveyed the target plant. I almost lost heart and purpose as I noticed how beautiful and shiny green the leaves were. Its’ perfect symmetry almost dissuaded me from the task. However I was spurred on by the memory that this plant, always the first to bloom during the very earliest part of spring, had produced no flowers this year—always a sign that pruning is needed. Hardly knowing where to begin, I just grabbed nearest branch and started cutting and cutting…what I found was very disheartening. Underneath the lovely canopy of green was: nothing! Just an intricate skeletal system of branches, supporting leaves at the exterior ten percent of the plant. This was not a healthy shrub! It should have had layers of leaves. Because of my years of neglect, it was necessary to cut this lovely, favorite shrub back 30 percent, only saving enough leaves to continue photosynthesis so the plant could survive.
A favorite devotional book of mine is “Secrets of the Vine,” by Bruce Wilkinson. He masterfully describes how God (the vine) manages his branches (us,) how he prunes and tends us like the loving vine-dresser he is, so we are able and fit to produce fruit, or good works for him. I always thought the pruning was punishment, but through scripture have learned that it’s the “good” growth which must be correctly pruned and trained. Chastisement has a much different look. As I was pruning off the plants green growth, it appeared pretty and healthy, but not fruitful. It’s true condition? The leaves were just show, while the true fruit, flowers, had not emerged this year. Further examination exposed evidence of storm damage, most likely from the two extremely harsh winters we experienced a couple of years ago. There were quite a few dead and non-producing branches. Are we like that? Is our outside 10 percent looking pretty good, while the inside of us has life and sin-damaged branches that are not producing anything of value? Is the new growth being stunted?
Obviously we are not plants that can prune ourselves. We would not know what to cut and when. This must be left up to the Master Gardener. I am sure if the rhodie had feelings it would complain and maybe even cry about my seeming callousness. Our response should be to accept His knowledgeable husbandry. A natural characteristic of rhododendrons is the shedding of dead and diseased leaves. Our responsibility is to shed off the sinful things in our life in a daily regeneration through prayerful confession and determination to grow His way. This makes us clean and healthy for the gardener who loves us for eternity, but who also wants us to bear precious fruit for him while we sojourn in his beautiful garden.
I am looking at my sad, denuded rhodie. Most of it now sits on the burn pile, but it will not die; it is not forgotten. I stirred up the dirt beneath, gave it a good dose of fertilizer and settled on a nice blanket of mulch. By pruning it I probably saved its life. It is a favorite, and I did what was best for it to continue to produce gorgeous flowers. I hope I am growing enough that the Gardener needs to prune me.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
How true is this. If it were up to us, we probably wouldn't do any pruning in our lives. It hurts, it's sometimes scary, but always necessary. I am so thankful that even though pruning hurts, God uses it to make us into the person He wants us to be.
