We have day lillies planted in our flower bed out front. Now, I'm NO plant person. I will kill anything living in a pot. I have NO green thumb whatsoever. As a matter of fact, I told my landscaper when he was designing our stuff to not plant anything that required maintenance from me because it would surely die if it did. I just don't like to take care of plants/flowers/ any of it. I think they are pretty to look at, but if I have to maintain it to keep it alive, well, it's not so pretty anymore.
So anyway, we have these day lillies. After the winter and all the crazy weather we have had, they looked completely dead. The leaves and everything on and around them were brown and fragile. No life whatsoever in them. So we decided to pull off all the top of it and see what was lying underneath. As we did, we began to notice little tiny buds underneath. That was just a week or so ago. Today as we came home from church, we noticed that all of the plants we had pulled off the dead weeds too had started growing and were as green as I've ever seen. It was amazing! And I began to think of how that relates to us spiritually.
We all have things and issues in our lives that stunt our growth spiritually. And it's those very things that have crusted over what is full of life within us. So much so that we don't even see there is still life underneath it all. Until God shows up. And He begins to remove all the dead stuff from our life. the things that produce no life in us, but yet hinder our lives from flourishing like they should. And as He beings to prune and remove all the weeds from our hearts, we begin to see a glimmer of what has been hidden beneath it all along. And before we know it, we are growing and blossoming again.
I've never liked the pruning process in my life. I'll just go ahead and admit it. BUT, as I see it now, that pruning process is what keeps us healthy and growing in Christ. It is a necessary process in order for our lives to continue growing. If our hearts are covered over with dead weeds, aka....sins that have kept us bound, bad habits, you name it, then our growth is hindered. those things have to be removed from our lives. And God will allow situations and things to come around to bring things out of our hearts so that we can deal with them and find healing and restoration through Christ. And then we begin to flourish and bloom in Him. I don't know about you, but I want to grow. I want to bloom spiritually in every area of my life. I don't want dead weeds surrounding my heart so that I can't grow in the things of God. I know how ugly the dead weeds looked in my flower bed, and its the same in our lives. It's ugly. But then when it is removed and that new life begins to bloom, oh boy is it ever a beautiful sight to behold.
May we all long for and hunger for His hand to prune our lives so that we can remove every obstacle that keeps us from pursuing Him with our whole heart. May we not hold on to dead things that are of no value to us, but rather lay hold of new life in Christ.
Keep growing...
Stacy
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