Posted by Hope on September 16, 2011 at 11:50 AM in Driven by Purpose, For Change, Growing with Hope, Life at its Best, Reflections | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
There’s a beautiful tree that has provided me with an incredible amount of pleasure over the last few years. It stands outside my home office window. My desk is directly beneath that window.
This tree has withstood the trauma of recent 100 km/hr winds; it has beared up under the burden of incredible amounts of snow gathered in its boughs, has been home to various little creatures and has brought me much inspiration over the years.
This morning while sitting at my desk, I heard what sounded like a chain saw. I stood up and looked out my window to see a gardener with a truckload of equipment; his gaze was firmly cast upon this tree. Poor tree had no clue what was coming.
A professional horticulturalist doesn't hack away at a tree or plant just anywhere and he doesn't do it simply for esthetic reasons. Pruning is required to trim away deadwood, remove disease and tissues that inhibit healthy growth, and to control and direct growth by giving it shape.
Pruning is something that is part of life whether it is done by a gardener, by nature and the elements or by God Himself . It is, generally speaking, not a pleasant experience and the immediate after effects can leave the prunee looking and feeling rather stripped down and exposed.
The last few weeks have left me feeling rather stripped and exposed. Sometimes we go through life and stuff just starts to attach itself to us - once it does, the potential for growth is there. Everyone knows that a rotten tree doesn’t grow good fruit and who wants or needs rotten fruit? This time of pruning hasn’t been easy. I’ve been completely present and awake for this spiritual surgery. The things revealed to me haven’t been a complete surprise - let’s face it, when there’s a huge bump protruding from your noggin - you know it and the same goes for spiritual bumps. And so it seems that, at least for now, like my beloved tree, the Master Gardener has finished pruning me for this season. And again, like my tree, I am feeling somewhat worse for the wear. The wonderful thing is that I know in a few weeks or months from now, like that tree, I will be stronger than ever and more fruitful ... and isn’t that the whole point?
“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” John 1:1-4.
Posted by Hope on August 20, 2011 at 07:36 PM in For Change, Growing with Hope, It is what it is ..., OY! Not this Again! | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)
Posted by Hope on August 13, 2009 at 06:34 PM in For Change, Hope and Grace, Life at its Best | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBack (0)
Posted by Hope on July 19, 2009 at 02:00 PM in For Change, Growing with Hope, Hope and Grace, Life at its Best | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBack (0)
Posted by Hope on July 10, 2009 at 01:27 PM in Awesome and Wonderful, For Change, Love Never Fails, Thriving vs. Surviving | Permalink | Comments (7) | TrackBack (0)
Oops! I did it again! There are some things that people do in life so repetitiously that it just becomes second nature, a habit, a routine. There are meals I make for my children that I’ve made so many times I no longer need the recipe. I take the same route to work every day without fail. It has become so routine that I could not begin to tell you which exits or landmarks I pass; I no longer notice them. I’m not complaining – there’s something about my personality that rather enjoys routine – but there are some times, some places, and in some relationships where I have come to appreciate the unexpected . . . and I expect the unexpected . . . as long as it doesn’t upset my schedule.
In my zeal for God, and my desire for an ever deepening intimacy with Him, I seem to have developed a routine. I have a set time for devotionals, studying His Word, and praying. Last week however, I began to wonder if it seemed to Him as if I was just going through the motions – so, I shook things up a bit. OY! What point is there in trying to change something that needs no change?
As I re-arrange my schedule to it’s former way, I can say with confidence that if a person’s “routine” involves heart rather than going through the motions God says, “It’s all good”. I am the way I am which is not to say that the unexpected cannot, or will not, occur during, or outside my schedule. My heart is always open and my spirit always ready to receive. He knows me and that is what’s important.
And while I do enjoy routine in various aspects of my life, my relationship with God – whether in His Temple, within the community, or in my home – is the most important part of my life. In every place, in every situation or circumstance the unexpected is not limited to my schedule; He is so much bigger than that. How things look to me, or others, is not part of the equation.
“The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart." 1 Sam. 16:7.
Posted by Hope on July 01, 2009 at 08:34 PM in Driven by Purpose, For Change, Life at its Best | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)
Posted by Hope on June 25, 2009 at 08:02 PM in Bitter Roots, For Change, Reflections | Permalink | Comments (3) | TrackBack (0)
Winter is officially over in the Canada’s capital city. The remnants of winter are scarce; the occasional dirt and soot covered snow banks are sparsely scattered about the landscape among the budding trees and the tulips beginning to push their way through the earth. Welcome are the short rains that wash away the remainder of what is now past as they prepare the way for new beginnings.
New beginnings can be a frightening thing to people. I know they are to me. I’m incredibly adaptable for someone who doesn’t exactly welcome change. God has been changing me since I returned from Israel in December. He’s been pruning me – removing various things in my life that, in the past, were not only a great source of joy for me, but also a way in which I could serve and worship Him.
I’ve had to adapt to changes in situations before however they were usually bitter circumstances in which the terrifying and unknown prospects of the future could only be for the positive. When God gives you something wonderful like a friend, a particular gifting or ability, or He places you in service to a ministry or profession you enjoy, and then decides to let you know that it was only for a season – well – let’s just say that it can be difficult to let go with a healthy attitude.
Dr. Barry Boucher often remarks, “if God gives you something you better not hold on to it too tightly.” He’s absolutely right. Serving God with all my heart means that whatever new beginning He has in store for me I had better acknowledge that it’s my love and worship of Him, and not necessarily what I have or what I’m doing, that is paramount.
“Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them," Isaiah 42:9.
Posted by Hope on April 29, 2009 at 03:28 PM in Driven by Purpose, Faith Like This, For Change | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack (0)



