It was a wonderful
day to do yard work.
I am grateful
to have a lovely yard and the physical ability to maintain it. That is a huge
blessing and I know it.
Yard work
is a pleasant way for me to be in the sun, play in the dirt, enjoy having the
dog running around me.
Spring
clean-up is nice because it signals the beginning of nice weather. Summer
maintenance is tolerable because the gardens look so nice when they are clean
and weed-free.
October
chores are different. Pruning, separating perennials, moving some plants
inside...none of that says "FUN" to me.
Perhaps
it is because the season is ending. Cutting the gardens down to nothing and
knowing they will soon be covered with snow gives me no satisfaction. Necessary
change of seasons blah blah. It still isn't fun.
That is
the mindset I had when I headed out today.
Somewhere
in the sun and clippings and barking, my perspective changed.
Certainly
the clean, albeit bare, gardens look better than they did filled with brown
leaves and dead stems.
So maybe
I am like that too? No maybes about it. My heart and mind need to be pruned and reshaped and I feel better
when it is done. I'm sure the people who share life with me feel the benefit as well.
Unlike the plants, however, I often fight it, think it isn't necessary, or whine about the discomfort.
How about you?
Isn't it interesting that when plants are growing
wild, we prune them to get the growth under control - and when plants aren't
growing, we prune them to encourage new growth.
Pruning - the all-around cure.
It works the same way for me.
Sometimes I get out of control. My plans,
thoughts, energies become scattered.
Pruning is necessary, lest I become like the
vinca in my back flower garden - spreading in every direction but producing no
flowers, growing in places I don't belong.
Sometimes I get lackadaisical, content with
mediocrity...or worse, full of myself, counting on my own strength.
Pruning is necessary at other times, lest I
become like my Wandering Jew - stems that hang down and look healthy, but are
thin and nearly dead at the root.
How about you? Do you need pruning to stimulate
or control?
I am diligent about weeding. It is one of my
favorite activities when I am having a blank moment while writing. So imagine
my surprise when today's pruning revealed weeds. Big ones that have been there
for some time.
The past few years have been a period of
tremendous pruning for me. I often ask God (or demand or scream about) what
else I possibly need to give up or learn.
Then another branch comes off and I see a weed I didn’t
know was there.
How about you? Do you learn more in hard times?
Do you need to appreciate good times more? Yeah, most of us do.
I still don't like pruning. There are thorn
pricks in two fingers and one thumb is sore because a hard stem shoved itself
under the nail. OUCH.
But, at least I have a better perspective. Which
is good because I have more to do.
And it seems likely God has more pruning to do on
me. Seasonally, just like my flower gardens.
You too, maybe?
We
will talk more tomorrow…
Thanks
for reading.
BP :)
I
am participating in Write 31 Days. Click here to read more about it and see the other amazing
bloggers.
You
can see earlier entries below this blog or in the sidebar under 2015.
Beth Painter is, among many other things, a
writer and motivational speaker. You can follow her on Facebook on the
“Think Big focus small” page.
Beth is available to speak to your group about
how to make your dreams and desires come to life!