Tidying Up the Garden

Yesterday morning I spent time pruning the garden. With all the rain in January, the plants had begun climbing out of the garden bed. I didn’t realise how bad it was until I began to cut them back; underneath, the grass was brown and patchy.

It’s all neatened up now (I don’t want to stop looking at it!), and it parallels how I feel about last year.

It’s a gradual spreading out, this climbing over the garden bed and into the grass and walkway. Things look and feel messy, but it doesn’t happen overnight so you adjust. You accept that it’s normal. You might even notice but decide to put it off for another day, another week.

Now that the weight has been chopped off, the plants can begin to grow tall again. That’s what they’re meant to do; grow upwards, with the fence. Instead they were being dragged down, their branches brushing the ground and growing out instead of up. Some even had weeds tangled right by the root, but it was hidden in the overgrowth. I wouldn’t have known there were weeds if I hadn’t begun pruning.

Last year felt like a long winter. Work was the main difficulty, with a few other circumstances that added to the weight. But after winter comes spring, when the heaviness is thrown off and growth is given a chance. Warmth is in abundance and there is no lack.

This year, I have been given the chance to step back – to be pruned, if you will. Last year I was planted in the right position, but the garden bed slowly became a mass of hidden, tangled weeds and branches being weighted down. The heaviness prevented a fullness of growth; in the end I was adjusting to the damage instead of dealing with it.

I am not saying this year will have no difficulties. But after a painful pruning, I am ready to grow tall where I am planted. I see God in the morning and as I walk through the day and as it comes to a close, and I wasn’t this aware of His movements last year. He has opened my eyes to seeing His hand in everything, more and more.

I’m excited to see what God does this year. I think big things are on the horizon; Healing! Revival! Exciting stuff.

Sarah xx