I have been contemplating these plants of mine lately.
After a glorious summer in the sun, I had cut them back a bit and brought them in for the winter.
For awhile, the blooms flourished and the greenery was full and bright.
Now, though, the beauty of the blossoms is but a distant memory and much of the greenery from the summer has died...but all are holding on to the stem still, stubbornly insisting that they still belong there...just a while longer? Please? Or perhaps the main part of the plant hasn't quite discovered that it's time to let go.
I can identify with these plants of mine. I have things in my life that were once of use to me, a part of me even, much like these dead leaves and blossoms. I have held onto these things and held some of them close, stubbornly and perhaps a bit fearful of letting them go.
Perhaps, as with my plants, these things are causing me to look ugly and unkempt in the eyes of God. Perhaps, as I longingly look back and remember and give my energy to that and miss out on what is happening in the here and now, unable to be present with my loved ones... Perhaps He shakes His head at me for my clinging-on.
Perhaps it's time for a pruning, so that there can be new growth. Perhaps it's time to allow the Gardener to take up the pruning sheers, and along the lines of John 15:1-2, lop off the things that don't produce and allow for the rest of the plant to flourish and grow.
Notice that the parts of the plants that are alive and green are reaching, begging almost, for more light, that which they were created to seek, to somehow know will sustain them and help them grow.
I too, like the plants, am seeking the light. Only the Light I am seeking is Christ, and His will for my life, because I know He is the source of my strength (Psalm 27:1). I am reaching and growing, and perhaps in this process it is necessary for me to reevaluate the "extra" things in my life. To pray for His guidance as to what to keep and what to let go of. Some of those things are things of beauty (or have been), and are generally "Good Things", but are they of enough importance for me to keep around now? Or are they things that are pulling me down, a hindrance, filling my time and space to the detriment of what is truly important?
Perhaps, along with some pruning, I need to be re-rooted, so that I can start anew. Much like I should have done with the geraniums when I brought them in months ago, and should perhaps do now. Might be worth my time and effort...an act of reflection, consideration...
Praying for His will to be made apparent in my life and yours as you seek Him.
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