The Power of Pruning!

Tomorrow is the first day of spring, my favorite season! I get so excited when I go out on those cold mornings with Syrus and see the first signs of a little green sprig popping its head through the mulch! I will watch it everyday, measuring it's success, and cheering it on.  

My husband immediately starts to remind me that I cannot run to Home Depot and buy $500 worth of flowers until after the threat of frost has passed. 

It's such an exciting time to me. It is like all the life that has laid dormant through the winter are are having a rebirth! The dead coming back to life!

Since I have fallen in love with gardening I have learned a thing or two. Pruning- it has to be done! I had to let go of that feeling that I was chopping down my little miracle that I had put into the ground and watched grow. Pruning eliminates the old, dead, diseased and negative parts of a shrub. Eventually, my Hydrangeas do thank me when they are in full bloom with the most vibrant colors ever. 

Another term I learned was Deadheading. Who knew this was not what you do the extreme

couponer who pays with pennies in front of you at the grocery store. Simply pinching those

pieces off after they have stopped contributing to the beauty of the flower will make it flourish and multiply. 

Wait for it......the lesson. How would this work if throughout the year we pruned and deadheaded our lives like we do our garden? Is it possible that "pruning back" parts or people from our life could make us flourish like a stunning Marigold?

Yes there would be a period when things might appear slimmer, more drab or unflattering but the payoff when we start to bloom again would be spectacular!

What about the times that it feels like God has done the pruning that we did not ask for? Since God knows all, could we learn to accept these prunings and recognize that HE knows what is best for our lives and has much BIGGER things planned for us? If we have Faith and trust that God is in control and has said "I came that you might have life and have it more abundantly" (John 10:10) and not question why things are not going the way we planned. 

Just like when we ladies exfoliate our face, the idea is to remove the dead, dull and dingy to expose the renewed glowing vibrant skin underneath. 


Think about this.....Could you be honest enough with yourself to admit when maybe what

needs to be pruned back could be something you are doing to yourself? I constantly struggle with the voice that talks to me in a way I would never allow someone else to. I need to prune back that negative voice that tells me I can't do it. I need to deadhead that low self-esteem that tells me I will never measure up.....exfoliate the ugly glasses that I view myself through. 

Removing negative people, including any negative voice they try to leave behind, can also help you to flourish and bloom. 

When we compare an over desolate garden to a beautiful healthy one, the main difference is the amount of care and love that someone gives it. We should be viewing our lives as gardens that need to be tended to everyday. 

However, I do believe a forgotten garden can produce those Lemons that will sneak into our lives and steal our joy!

Love yourself, take care of yourself because you are a child of God!

As a side note.....I love writing this blog and have gotten such fantastic feedback from it. But I suffer from periods of being uninspired. I ask for your prayers of inspiration for me to write on a regular basis. I do feel like this is my talent that God has blessed me with and understand that I need to "tend to this garden" if I want it to grow. 

Until next time-Safe Picking!

Tammy