Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Dear God,

Pruning! My husband and I got into this big discussion about pruning...raspberry bushes. He just wants to cut back a few inches. Our vines are more than 5 feet high. We talked and talked. I got on the internet and took the proof out to him that pruning is a must. Why? Makes for better berries, less disease. It gives the plants air and sunshine that they need. When we went for dinner at the neighbor's, her husband felt the same way.

Pruning is a difficult task. Because these vines have not been pruned in decades, they are completely out of control. No telling what we will find under them. It's hard trying to cut the old branches at ground level and the new a little higher. They are so intertwined.

Soul pruning is an even greater task. I'm forever in need of pruning. When I lose my way, I need a good cut. I need certain things in my life cut back. Without pruning I will eventually live my own life, won't take into account what you know is best for me. I won't listen; I'll forge ahead with smug arrogance. The branches in my life needing growth will be bogged down in extraneous other things. I'll be stunted in some areas. In time I'll lose my rootage, my source of living water and my Godshine.

As I look up into the Maine sky I see a magnificent blue sky with puffy white clouds but I know the sky can change bringing gray rain or storm clouds. It's the way life is. Anything can change at any time. When an event or experience comes my way, I have a decision to make. I can listen for your word and see the experience as one indicating that I need a little pruning. Painful, yes, but positive. It will make for a healthier me. My spirit will be in a better place. My habits will change. My spiritual health will be better, a good indicator that the rest of me is in good shape. When I practice spiritual obedience, I have a better chance of growing under the Master's cutting tool.

In the beginning
my soul
was yours.
You decided
when, how, where and why
to cultivate me.
You always
knew best,
still do.
Sometimes
I resist
the cutting process;
I always fail.
Eventually
I wound back
in your hands.
The cut
goes deeper,
hurts more.
But you,
O God
still know
the spiritual time
for all things.
My life
is yours,
all of me.

Love, Andrea