Saturday, March 22, 2014

Dear God,

You use every means to teach us life lessons.  When we listen and really see, we can learn so much from you.

Today a friendly landscape architect walked us through our yard and garden.  He talked with us about pesky thistles that have refused to die.  He pointed to a problem with grubs.  He told us to do a hardy prune on several bushes.  He confirmed our dogwood tree is dead.  He shared the fact that some of our plants, evergreens, and pines really need to be uprooted or cut down.  I realized I had a lot of work to do.

After our expert left, I went out with my pruning shears and began to cut.  I took the butterfly bushes and Russian sage to the ground.  I pruned the burning bush at least a foot.  I cut back the service berry tree where limbs were rubbing against each other.

The process of learning the truth about our property and continuing the work of maintaining our garden and grass taught me more about the spiritual life.  A soul that is not properly pruned will grow unwieldy, wild, and ugly.  A soul that is not fertilized will not achieve its full potential.  A soul that is neglected can die.  A soul that has the attention and love of its creator will rise up and do great things.

Thank you
for lessons
that teach us.
Thank you
for love
that motivates us.
Thank you even
for the
pruning shears
that cut
but eventually
heal us
and make us new.

Love, Andrea