Tonight, as I was cleaning up my landscaping, I noticed that my rose bush needed serious attention. A few weeks ago, after spotting numerous bug bitten leaves, I sprinkled rose bush fertilizer and bug repellent on the plant. Once I applied the chemical, I left the bush alone to recover. I didn’t really pay attention to its progress until I looked over it this evening.
I noticed something as I carefully studied my rose bush; it had grown. It was no longer a small bare plant, but a large, flower covered, bush that had doubled in size. Several beautiful roses were scattered throughout the plant, and at first glance the bush looked quite appealing. Then, I closely evaluated the plant’s shape and the condition of each stem. The bush was sagging, the stems were overgrown, and the bottom leaves were still holey. This plant looked pathetic, and even though the stems looked beautiful on the top half, the bush couldn’t support the healthy growth. What had I done wrong?
I didn’t prune my plant and monitor its progress.
Sometimes, we can be like my rose bush.
We may start out healthy, but an issue or problem comes along and starts chewing holes in our leaves. The issue festers until we have more damaged leaves, but don’t really address the growing problem. Eventually, we find ourselves full of dying leaves and a very unattractive person to be around. So what do we do? We pour some fertilizer and bug repellent onto our damaged hearts, egos, self-images, and/or reputations. We try to cover up the damage without dealing with it, by pushing people out of our lives or making ourselves look beautiful and competent on the outside.
Did it work for the rose bush? Nope! It doesn’t work for us either.
We may seem to have everything under control, but at some point, we will have to face our overgrown, out-of-control, crammed down problems. The issues that we tried to bury with job success, good deeds, crowd approval, and coping mechanisms are now staring us down like an angry bull. Our emotions do not play fair. Pain has a way of bubbling to the surface when you least expect it, and it wreaks havoc.
So, what do you do to avoid the inevitable mess?
For my roses, I got out the pruning sheers. I spent about 20 minutes chopping off the holey leaves and cutting stems, to include the healthy looking ones, to reshape the bush. I salvaged the pretty roses that had grown and placed them in a vase. I cleaned up the mess and decided to check on my plant more often.
Sometimes, we just need to sit and take a close look at our hidden stuff. We need to allow God to illuminate what we can’t clearly see. We need to face our fears, cut away what is causing death in our lives, salvage the beauty from our mistakes, and clean up any remaining debris by forgiving ourselves and others. Then, we need to do routine pruning, so our hearts can remain healthy.
My rose bush is looking better already. How about yours?
Yup… been there; done that. Ouch! But that’s what it takes…
Joh 15:1-2 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.
Joyce Meyers had it right, when she said, “Either way, it looks like you get cut!” 🙂