Thursday, May 31, 2012

Pruned For More Beauty

Summer is a time of renewing for me.  School is out, the pool opens, and the pace slows for me somewhat.  I have made an every year commitment to God and myself to put to paper the list of things that I've committed myself to over the past year.  After I've made the list, I begin to pray over the course of the summer if God still wants me to commit myself to whatever I've written.  It is hard for me, because the evil one will whisper in my ear that I'm a "loser" if if "quit", that "surely you can do it all", "everyone is counting on you".  God has grown me so much over the years to know His sweet voice that says, "Here is where I best can use you" and "this has run it's course, and it's time to move on and let someone else."

I was reminded of my "list" that I compile every year as I was pruning my rose bushes today.  Sidenote: I usually NEVER prune them, but with my man and baby girl out of town, I've had a bit of extra time on my hands.  Here's what I saw...
Slowly fading blooms...others looked like this...

Still others this...
God gently reminded me that the fading blooms, and even the ones that had no bloom at all represent those things on my list that God is no longer calling me to.  What I've found with pruning is that the more you prune, the healthier the flower is, so the more pruning I allow God to do in my heart and life, the more healthy I will be in Him!  But what do I do at times?  I try to get life out of a flower that has no bloom left in it.  It's seen it's beauty, and now it's time to prune it back and allow God to birth new blooms...


So what about you?  What on your list of things that you "do for God" need to be prayed over, and maybe cut back because they are no longer blooming, so that He can bloom anew in you??


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