I have a pool. A fenced in pool that takes up half of my backyard. This means half of my backyard is useless for 9 months out of they year, and I only wander around it during those months to do bare minimum maintenance. Then the summer hits. Summer, when we spend countless hours poolside making memories. Now here's the thing: every summer for the past few years there is this bush. Shrub. Tree? God only knows what kind of plant it is, but there is some living "green thing" that seemingly explodes with growth and completely takes over the sidewalk, right at the corner of the deep end. We would always have to bend down, and tippy toe next to the edge of the pool to sneak by this monster of a plant, always fearful of falling in. (and coming close many times!) The problem is, it's beautiful. The big leaves at the end of long branches, the gorgeous green... If I were to trim it down in the summer we would be left with sticks. I leave it. For years I leave it and when winter comes I forget about it because the leaves fall off and it no longer poses a threat to my walk. The cycle continues on and on.
This last winter I broke the cycle. I went out with my pruning shears and absolutely no knowledge of how to properly trim such things and hacked away. I left with a whole green bin of branches, and a few sticks sticking out of the dirt. "Oh my goodness what have I done?!?" May have crossed my mind more than once. I tried not to look at it. It was bare, not a pretty time. But the months passed, and without me even noticing... it grew, and grew.... and grew. New seasons brought about beautiful change slowly, but surely. However, now instead of being unruly and taking up a place it doesn't belong, it grew perfectly in its spot it was always meant to be.
One summer day while cleaning the pool, I stared and realized... I am the plant. This whole experience relates to many of our lives. In order to become the most beautiful version of ourselves, we must endure routine seasons of pruning. Often we look to God and wonder, "Oh my goodness, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!" Stop. Trust. Trust in the seasons changing. Trust in the big picture. We will bloom again, and we will fit where we are meant to be in a much better way, but first, surrender. I recently read a blog entry and this quote hit hard and is worded perfectly:
"Sometimes the pruning goes deep, and you wonder if you'll recover. Fighting the process keeps us isolated and exhausted- we keep God at arm's length, blaming him, instead of cleaving to him.
The secret to surviving the cutting is abiding. And the secret to abiding is prayer.... We can't afford to let past hurts to define us. And we sure can't allow the cutting and pruning to paralyze us from moving forward. You can either be broken by fear and shame or entirely made whole by His love. That's all there is." Lea Turner
Keep growing guys. Even when people glance at you in your current ugly season and cringe... stand tall, look up and grow little by little, day by day. The seasons WILL change.
