"Pruning"

Up until yesterday afternoon, my back deck was beginning to look a bit like the Adams family lived here.  My potted plants looked very brown and sad after sitting through our big snowstorm a few weeks ago.  I had only observed them from my back door and finally, after saying to myself day after day, "I really need to throw those plants out..." I decided to finally do it.  To my surprise, when I looked into the pots I saw a lot of new growth way down at the base of the dead stems.  I couldn't believe that the plants had survived!  So, I brought them into the house (because gardening in 30 degree weather just isn't my thing) and got my pruning shears.  It was amazing what a difference it made just cutting off the old stems.  I have no idea if the new growth will actually make it through the rest of the winter, but the roots look really strong.

By now you might be asking yourself what the big deal is about pruning plants and why on earth I'm blogging about it.  Well, for me it's a bit metaphorical.  I've been doing some "pruning" in myself this week.  Cutting away all the old, limp, brown, and dead flower stems reminded me of what I've been doing in my own life, emotionally.  I probably could have just pretended that I didn't see the new growth in those pots and thrown them away like I originally planned.  It would have saved some time and I could have stayed in my nice warm house.  But, I would never have seen the vibrant green beauty of what lay underneath those ugly stems if I wouldn't have taken that time.  I also have hope for those plants that they will actually survive now that they have room to breathe.

It's a bit like that with our lives and our emotions.  We could go on with life, as is, and not ever take the time to prune the dead things that hold us back.  It sure would be easier sometimes.  It's easier because the pruning process can be uncomfortable, and sometimes really painful.  In my case, it's been both.  There are a lot of things that I thought I had dealt with years ago that I discovered this week were still there.  They were buried pretty deeply.  Facing some of these things has been really difficult, but completely necessary if I am ever going to move forward.  Not just move forward emotionally, but also towards my physical healing.  I've shared before that this neurological disease I deal with is very much connected to emotions and responds to emotional stress.  Well, a lot of this emotional distress comes from years ago.  Some is recent, but the patterns that my brain has developed, based on these negative emotions, goes years back.  It's not like no new growth has gotten through because I've definitely grown from my experiences with this disease.  But, the growth potential is huge if I can just complete this "pruning" process and not give up. 

The amazing thing about flowers, and our lives, is that even though things can appear to look really dead on the surface, deep down in the soil the roots can still be strong.  The plant can continue to gain strength, even though it appears to be dead.  However, if the plant is not pruned properly, eventually the roots can dry up, become brittle, and lose their strength.  And it can take a lot more work and a lot more time to revive that plant, if it's even able to be revived.  Other times, on the surface, the plant can still look pretty good, but when it's pruned it's able to grow more beautiful and produce even more flowers.  If your life right now looks dead on the surface, you may just have to dig a little bit to find some of that strength that I'm sure is in there.  If it looks pretty good on the surface, there's always room for a little "dead-heading."  We all have things that need to be pruned.

Colossians 3:8-10 says, "But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips.  Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator."  Vs. 12-14, "Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.  Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another.  Forgive as the Lord forgave you.  And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity."

Whatever your pruning needs are, whether it be the need to forgive someone, the need to rid yourself of anger, etc., ask God to show you what needs to be done and then let Him do it.  Let him be the gardener.  He will never prune too much and he will only prune what is necessary to bring new growth and make you healthy.  I am excited to complete this particular pruning process and see what's in store for my health.  I know it will be good!