A Necessary Pruning

 We all know that pruning a garden is what helps it to be both beautiful and healthy. What I see around me, though, are shrubs which were allowed to grow too large, then were over pruned. Instead of filling in nicely and fulfilling their role as edging, parts of them have died, and will need to be completely removed.

What a shame! If they had been taken care of earlier in the process, they’d be thriving now, a luscious green rather than a drab brownish thatch. There’s a lesson there for me!

When I sense a “no” or a “not yet” to my wants, I’m not being punished - I’m being gently trimmed. Like so many of us, I grew up with the concept of a punishing God. Thoughts or actions which were ‘wrong’ would result in my wings being clipped, first a little, then possibly removed altogether. This kind of thinking removes me from taking personal responsibility. God becomes the bad guy, arbitrarily whacking at will.

Today I can be grateful for ‘a little off the top and sides’. Whether the result is rounded, squared off, or trimmed into a beautiful topiary, I know I can - sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly - accept whatever shapes me, according to what I’m meant to be.





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