Getting to the root of the problem

Well, I was pruning again. If you read my last blog you will remember I talked about the benefits of pruning - mostly that it allowed a plant to grow back renewed and invigorated!

During my digging process the next day I had a blonde moment. As I was digging I realized that the briars and poison ivy I was dealing with have roots also. So, if I prune them they will come back strong too. What to do? Obviously I needed to get the the root of the problem. As I was doing this I realized that I may lose some good stuff in the process because the roots of the good and evil were interwined.

Some of the plant that I was working with was so large and interwined with the root so tightly I could not go directly to the root and cut. I had to start at the top of the plant and work down.

That's the way it is with us. Sometimes we know where the root is and other times we are not sure. We have to start at the top and go down. It means letting go of a few good things to get there. Once you are there and cast out the evil the good will have room to grow again and multiply.

I was reminded of Romans 12:21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

While I was working so hard to get to the root of the problem God sent me a cool breeze along and along to encourage me and a tall glass of ice water - ain't He good!

So that's where they were!

I have been in the yard early in the morning the last couple of days to prune some Azaleas. Yard work is not one of my favorite things to do but what I really love about it is the fact that God always shows up and teaches me something while I am working. It is probably because it is one of the few times I am not running my mouth so He can do all the talking.

A couple of interesting things have happened the last two days. Probably the most unusual was that as I was pruning this a.m. this is what I found.

SO THAT'S WHERE THEY WERE! Yep, now I have been known to misplace my glasses but this is the weirdest place yet! They had to have been there at least 2 years because that is the last time I pruned this azalea. I have at least 6 pairs of reading glasses for this very reason. Now you know why you need to pray for me every day and poor Charlie because he has to live with me. (I have one more azalea to prune - reckon what I will find in it.)

The other interesting thing is that God spoke to me about the process of pruning. Most of us know that if you do not prune you will eventually not have any new growth. And with no new growth the plant dies. As bad as it hurts to cut those pretty long branches off my azaleas I know that next year and the next year they will bear more fruit.

John 15:1-4 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.  He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me."

I also noticed as I pruned that at the root of the plant there were many dead limbs. Because I had not pruned close enough to the root they eventually quit producing new branches and rotted. I could just pull them out of the ground.

There are things in my life that need to pruned - anything that keeps me from growing in the Lord. I may be bearing fruit for Him but I need to be constantly aware that His word tells me that even though I bear fruit He still prunes so that I bear MORE fruit. But HE needs to do the pruning - not me. He will show me.

If I don't allow His pruning then I will be just like those big limbs in my azalea that quit growing! I'll be just a big ole hunk of wood - no use to anybody.

What's in your life that you think God is working on to prune you to bear fruit for Him?

Grands!

And I am not talking Pillsbury Grands Cinammon Rolls even though I do LOVE those. I am talking about our precious grandchildren - specifically grandgirls!

What a wonderful, fun-filled, busy, hectic week we had! Anna is 4 and Rebekah is 7 months. The week was filled with all kinds of actitivites with Anna. Rebekah pretty much got to watch big sister in action.  Anna started her week by putting on her princess crown (she loves anything that has to do with princesses) and going outside to build a Mud Castle. She use to just love to dig around in the dirt but now we have to add water and make mud.  I use to love to do that when I was little too. We have a picture of me and my sister covered with mud from our heads to our toes.

She and Grandad and her Mom went to the movies one afternoon. Then there were always trips to the backfield with Grandad on the golf cart to check on the turkeys in the late afternoon.

We did have a girls day out when we (including Rebekah) went to Diggity Dog and got us a foot long corn dog and then played in the park!

The week culminated with Grandad, Anna and Kelly taking a boat ride in Reed Bingham State Park.

Yep, we were busy from the moment they got out of the car until they left. It was way too quiet as they pulled out of the drive several days later.

Love my grands! Enjoy a few pictures I took. Think I will stroll down memory lane with you too.

 

Everybody has a Crazy Mary

I have been reading Max Lucado's A Love Worth Giving which is based on 1 Corinthinians 13. Most of us think of it as the love chapter because we are given some very specific adjectives for the word love. Reread it if you have time. Each of the descriptions of love are woven together to give us a picture of love and if you look closely the picture is that of God. Since each one of us is different I know that your picture of God is not exactly the same as mine but I imagine there are lots of similarities.

You know how God is - He puts things in front of you that remind you of things that have happened in your life to remind you how you should react NOW if that were to happen again. In other words, did I learn anything from what happened last time. I will confess upfront that I am a slow learner when it comes to the things that God would have me do.

Everybody has a "Meeting Henry" story whether we want to admit it or not. I read a devotion by Holly Good at Proverbs 31 Ministries. Here is the link http://devotions.proverbs31.org/2011/04/meeting-henry.html.  It is well worth your time to read and will probably help you understand where my thoughts are going.

My "Meeting Henry" story is about a lady I met in Mexico about 15 years ago that the locals called Crazy Mary. She would always come to church when she knew Americans were going to be there. She came and sat down next to me in the service. I didn't know anything about Mary at the time. As the service progressed she put her arm around my shoulder. My husband was sitting on the other side of me and I looked at him as to ask what should I do, he just smiled. Later she reached over and took my hand in hers and would rub it ever so gently. Finally she laid her head on my shoulder. At the time I was very, very uncomfortable. She stayed like that until the service was over. I have to be honest. I was ready to leave and leave quickly when the service ended so I did not tarry. The locals seemed to think that she thought she might get something from me - money, food.

But my sweet husband shared with me that God had come to me as Crazy Mary and just wanted to love on me a while. I have tried to be more sensitive to those who do not receive love and have a unique way of begging for attention. I confess that I still do not love the way God does - unconditionally. I am trying but I have to be reminded through stories like Meeting Henry and my Crazy Mary. I know there are people in your life that are annoying - maybe you have a Crazy Mary or a Henry. They are in your life for a reason: to be loved by God through you.

Who is your Crazy Mary today?