Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Pruning

"I am the vine, my father is the gardener.  He cuts every branch in me that doesn't bear fruit.  Every branch that does he prunes so it will be more fruitful."   John 15:1-2
I have been quiet lately, I have needed this time.   I have been praying, pondering, thinking, meditating, questioning, wondering, resting, leaning, and listening for answers.   I am now convinced more than ever that even though it is important to give, it is okay to receive too.   Just like breathing in and then exhaling out,  all of life is give and take.  I need oxygen so I receive it from earth's plants.  They need carbon dioxide and so I give it back to them.   If I don't receive I have nothing to give.  If I don't give,  they have nothing to receive.  
It's Spring and in Southern California we have had record rainfall this year.  My plants are basking in the rich nutrients showered on them as the clouds continue to fill and then empty so late in the season.  The infant greens and the blossoms are more vibrant than ever and the birds sing joyfully as they are busy building their nests.
I enjoy my plants and my backyard immensely.  I spend up to an hour of quiet time outside as I begin each day.  This year I have paid close attention to each plant's growth cycle and I have witnessed maturity through the natural pruning process.  Some of my plants have also died since last year.   I have learned that the natural life cycle of red banana trees is on average a couple of years.   In two spots where there once stood a beautiful, full-leafed ten to twelve foot tree, there is now only a hole in the ground.   I am contemplating what to plant there next.
All of life has a cycle and as much as we try to hold to what is beautiful or what we think helps us to feel happy or secure we all must experience a season of pruning.  Sometimes our "branches" need to be cut off all together.
I believe that I have been going through a season of personal pruning.   God is showing me what I should cut-off and what should be pruned so that I might produce more beautiful fruit.  In some cases it is hard to determine what exactly I need to get rid of so I have been sitting by quietly and letting my heart, my soul, and my mind rest in the perfect gardener....God.  I have been receiving peace of mind from His beautiful creation manifested in the living things found right outside my back door.   It feels good to receive this blessing so for now I rest in it.
I suspect that others of you are feeling this season of new life and new growth.  I know that many of you are in the midst of health crisis.  Others are surviving the end of a relationship by separation or  death.   There are also many other personal or family problems which may be plaguing your mind or interrupting your sense of security.  Maybe you are questioning or looking for answers?
Even though it is a painful process, remember that pruning or cutting-off is a part of life.   "I have come to give you life and give it abundantly" says Jesus in John 10:10     He doesn't say I have come to give you an easy or a predictable life.   An abundant life means a full life, a complete life, an entire life.  A life including many ups and downs...the pruning or the cutting-off.
Maybe God has been revealing something to you during this season of regrowth?  I hope and pray that you will embrace your changes and always look for what potential beauty is left from your pruning.   I also hope that your personal season of growth will include both giving and receiving. 
God is blessing you.

Friday, April 2, 2010

Amazing Love

Today is Good Friday and I awoke early to the words of this beautiful song by Chris Tomlin.   I wanted to share these lyrics with you so that you might also embrace them along with the significance of this day. 

"I'm forgiven because you were foresaken,
I'm accepted,  You were condemmed.
I am alive and well, Your spirit is within me,
Because you died and rose again.

Amazing love,
how can it be
That You, my King, should die for me?
Amazing love,
I know it's true.
It's my joy to honor You,
In all I do.  I honor you.

I'm forgiven because You were foresaken,
I'm accepted, You were condemmed.
I am alive and well, Your spirit is within me,
Because you died and rose again.

Amazing love.
How can it be
That You, my King, should die for me?
Amazing love,
I know it's true.
It's my joy to honor You,
In all I do, I honor You.

You are my King,
Jesus You are my King."

"Christ did not have to offer himself many times.  He wasn't like a high priest who goes into the most holy place each year to offer the blood of an animal.  If he had offered himself every year,  he would have suffered many times since the creation of the world.  But instead, near the end of time he offered himself once and for all,  so that he could be a sacrifice that does away with sin.
We die only once, and then we are judged.  So Christ died only once to take away the sins of many people."   Hebrews 9-25-27

I pray that anything that has a strong-hold over your life would die today,  Good Friday.   I further pray that these issues that are holding you back be completely dead and buried.  In three days from now, on Easter morning I pray that you recognize the significance of God's greatest gift to you;  Jesus.  Through Him you have the ability to re-invent yourself and become an even better, more healthily integrated person than you are today.  I recognize that God is powerful enough to take away all bitterness, hatred, unforgiveness, jealousy, hurt, anger, or unhealthy habits.   I am convinced that God can take all of our shortcomings and difficult or painful situations and use them for His good.   Remember that God is blessing you always and in all things.  Donna