We have been blessed with a home that has an amazing yard! The previous owner was a landscaper and did an incredible job designing this yard. It really is a work of art! But we’re talking about living art here. Living art grows and needs to be tended or it stops looking artistic and just resembles a mess.
One tree in particular had shoots and branches growing out from the base and all over. It looked more like a huge bush than any tree.
Now I’m no gardener, but I do love being active outside (especially as I get to meet so many neighbors when I’m working in the front yard!). I also have a major pet peeve when things start growing over the sidewalk so people have trouble walking or biking on it.
So I prayed and asked the Lord to help me and guide my hands since I had no idea what I was doing and started tackling trimming this tree. I only wish I’d thought to take a picture before I started!
As I’m clipping away at all the stray branches the Lord gently whispers, “This resembles your life, Deb. There are so many things you like to do and are doing… you are all over the place. But just as you are radically pruning that tree, this is what I’m seeking to do during your sabbatical, prodigiously cutting everything away that’s not essential so you can see what the trunk is – the main thing I’ve created you to do and want you focusing on. That theme has been running through your life since the beginning, but it’s so crowded with other interests and activities, you’ll have a hard time seeing it until the ephemera is stripped away.”
Towards the end of tackling the tree my next door neighbor came over and said, “You are doing an excellent job!” When I told him, I had no clue what I was doing so I asked the Lord to guide me, he replied, “Well, he certainly is doing that!”
I smiled as I thought, “He sure is! And not only with this tree…”
Restful Heart 