Pruning With a Purpose

This has been one cold winter!  I'm not complaining and actually enjoyed being able to spend time in front of the fireplace, wear cozy sweaters and serve many meals of delicious homemade soup. Cold weather brings causes us to find an inner warmth and seek a little harder to make our lives more comfortable. 

Things are warming up now and I spent some time outside examining my porch plants. Back in the summer when the heat was scorching, I found a plant that thrived in hot, dry conditions.  It bloomed with many little flowers and brought a touch of beauty to the pot it was planted in.  During the weather transition, some cool weather loving flowers were planted beside it.  After the harsh winter, a patch of dead, wilted branches were all that remained from the summer loving plant. 

This is a spider plant which does not like cold weather.  During cold nights, it was covered up in an attempt to keep if from the cold.  It is still living, but the cold snap bit the growth on the ends and they are dead.  Both of these plants need a little trimming to take away the dead weight and renew the flowers that are in bloom. 

A similar thing happened in my life. Being a routine person, I was managing well two part time jobs. Days and hours were systematically distributed and like cruise control, all was going well. Like my plants received a jolt from the cold weather, an office computer crash, personnel changes, new software, new office routines jolted me out of my comfortable situation.

The time of transition caused some sleepless nights, dreaming about the workload that was falling behind, anxious, early mornings at the office trying to figure out new software, juggling time, commitments and simply life.  

Eventually things got back on track and a new routine in place. But like the plants, there is a lot of dead branches that need to be trimmed. Like taking clippers to my plants, it was time to reevaluate a few things.  I want to do what is best for my plants to bloom. That means cutting away the old growth that is no longer helpful, but a hindrance to blooming flowers. 

In life, we sometimes have to evaluate what we need to bloom.  Is there any dead growth that needs to be clipped away?  Activities, habits, circumstances that hold us back from blooming beautifully may need a purging. Sometimes letting go may be painful, but the beauty that will come forth will be worth it.  

Springtime is coming, may we be encouraged to examine our lives before a jolt comes.  Where are we blooming, productive and fulfilled?  Is there anything that holds us back from abundant blooms?  Prayerfully seek the Lord, He created us, gifted us and desires to use us for His glory. May He do a new thing in our lives this spring that will make our lives bloom for all to see and recognize the Lord as our master gardener.