Our two dogs Gibbs and Leo beat the alarm clock to the job of waking me up this morning. They let me know that they were ready to eat and ready to run well before dawn. So this hot cup of Door County Peanut Butter Crunch Coffee sitting next to me is going to work some overtime today.
John 15:5 I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, bears much fruit: for without me you can do nothing.
Last year my wife Rene and I purchased a lavender Hibiscus plant/bush at one of the local plant emporiums. The clerk told us that this type of plant would survive the Wisconsin winters and make a comeback in the spring. So always being those who would live on the edge a little, we brought this scrappy looking twig home. We planted it and watered it. It really showed no signs of life for a couple weeks and I was just about ready to concede that we purchased a dud when one morning I saw a green chute coming off of the stem. Very soon a lot of greenery was covering the twig and it was turning into a bush. Before long buds formed, and a couple weeks later we had the most beautiful purple flowers decorating our garden.
Then fall arrived and the flowers were gone. It was time to trim the bush per the directions and let it rest for the winter. Winter was cold and at times harsh, and you couldn't even see the Hibiscus beneath the snow. Spring arrived and the once green bush looked like aged driftwood. Rene and I looked at it and had to resist pulling it out. There seemed to be no life at all.
When the plant emporium opened in May and we started to purchase plants once again for the yard, I asked the same clerk if we should pull that deadwood out of the garden. We were ready to purchase a new bush because last year's plant was that spectacular. She told us two things. They weren't selling that style anymore. It was was not very popular and there was a good chance it would not come back. Although, she told us to wait until mid June before pulling the plant from the garden. We watered it and gave it some plant food. I watched it almost daily for signs of life. I didn't see any life revival happening so I dedicated some time on the weekend for plant removal. But then one morning just before D-Day, Rene came in and said that new chutes had sprung from the ground and we should not pull the plant out. I went outside and sure enough there were some tender sprouts coming up. We nurtured them along and before we knew it the bush came to life and was growing quickly with plenty of buds forming at the ends of the branches. I have been waiting for the first bud to open and this morning was it! I drank my first cup of coffee in the driveway looking at the surprise God had given to us.
I pondered the thoughts of how I almost gave up on the twig two times. Once last summer and then again this year. Then I asked myself "how many people who read this might be in relationships with friends or family, especially marriages where there seems to be no life. How many just want to give up?"
Friends like the harsh winter covered and smothered what once was beautiful, life can do the same to our precious relationships. But with the gardening of the heart, new life can be restored. Sometimes the weeds of hurt and pain need to be pulled from the soil of our heart. That might start with forgiving each other. Then the soil might need to be nurtured with food. I would say that the food for the garden of our hearts is prayer, Scripture reading, and time spent with the Heavenly Gardener. God tends to cultivate the soil of the heart and protects us from the weeds that would grow and choke the beauty out of relationships. But we have to be willing to take these steps and like Rene did last winter she pruned the dead growth down to make room for the new. God might need to cut us back a little and remove the things that cause us not to grow.
So before you pull things from the garden of your life, give them some time at the hands of God and see what He can do to infuse new life to barren hearts.
Marty
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