We have lived in our home for a little more than 7
years. We have always loved the gorgeous
azaleas planted by the original owners of the house. These bushes are about 30 years old. A few of them are over 7 feet tall! Even though the bushes are lush and green and
clearly putting on new growth, they have not bloomed for the past 2 years. So armed with a little bit of knowledge on
pruning, a vision of a pretty yard, and a pair of loppers, I ventured out to
take charge of my small domain.
I must confess that I have avoided pruning the azaleas for
the past 3 years because I knew that I was not experienced in this area. I was fairly certain that I would make a
bigger mess of the plants or that I would be too aggressive in my treatment and
they would die. An unexpected event
convinced me I would probably not kill the plant – my youngest child decided to
‘help’ in the yard by cutting down the ‘weeds’.
Sadly (or not), he believed the 30 year old azaleas were weeds. He proceeded to hack them down with the
loppers and was so proud of his work.
Nothing died. Everything started
putting on new growth. This experience
is the little bit of knowledge on pruning I have already referred to. Surely I would not kill the plants and even
if I did, they weren’t blooming anyway.
If you follow my sister’s blog, you may be expecting to see
pictures and a detailed description of how I clipped the branches with ‘before’
and ‘after’ photos. I’m sorry to disappoint
you, as I didn’t take pictures before I started and I don’t have the patience
to photo-chronicle itchy, sweaty yard work.
However, as I spent a few hours over a couple of days pruning the first 5
azaleas, my mind kept returning to John 15:2 “Every branch in me that does not
bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that
it may bear more fruit.” I started
thinking about the spiritual truths I could learn knowing that *I* am pruned by
my loving Father. Here are a few of
those ideas:
Pruning is for the good of the plant and me – My azaleas
have a purpose in my yard – to bloom in the spring. If they are not fulfilling their purpose,
what is the point of them being there? I
pruned them in hopes that will bloom, or produce fruit, again. Likewise, if I am not fulfilling my purpose,
which is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever, my Master Gardener needs to use
whatever means possible to allow me to once again do that.
Pruning is painful – I’m reminded of a question posed to me
in my FFA days, “Does a head of lettuce scream when you cut it?” I did not HEAR any screams from the azaleas
while I worked, but with my knowledge of biology, there certainly was stress
put on the plant. I’ll take this as an
equivalent of our pain. When the Master
Gardener comes and prunes me, things, activities, events, and more can be
removed or altered in my life. These
changes are sometimes abrupt and are often painful to be removed from my life.
Pruning leaves you somewhat bare and (GASP!) ugly – Here is
one of the azaleas now. Its bare and not
very pretty – especially compared to how it looked before pruning. This thought really consumed me as I
worked. How am I like this azalea? The Master Gardener comes and removes the
things that hinder me from fulfilling my purpose in His kingdom. Sometimes these things are ‘good things’. Often, these things look really good – both to
me and others. Perhaps these things have
been exactly what the Gardner wanted and used in His kingdom in the past. But these are not BEST things for NOW. He wants to make me more in the image of His
Son. He has more for me to do – perhaps in
different places of service and to different people. I can fight with my Master Gardeners pruning
a little more than my azaleas, but that just prolongs the pain. The Master Gardener knows best. He sees His plan. I should be thankful that he has seen fit to
keep me in His garden and allow me to do my small part of bearing fruit.
Pruning will result in greater beauty – I am excited to see
the new growth in my azaleas. Hopefully,
we will also see greener foliage and brighter blooms. The same will be true of me. As a new creation in Christ, I am promised “beauty
for ashes”. As part of his bride, I am
included in the glorious bride described in Revelation. How awesome to know the truth that my ‘light
and momentary troubles are not worth comparing to the glory that will be
revealed’ (Romans 8:18).
I am still mulling these truths and how God is pruning
me. While it is not always pleasant, it
is encouraging to be able to see the Lord’s loving work in my life. I pray he will prune me to be useful in His
kingdom, whether in big or small ways.
