A calling to write what He leads, no matter how uncomfortable...
Because simple daily Christian living is never what we thought it would be
In our spiritual lives, how are we bound? Have we needed the support of some means, but are now ready to be released…but are too afraid? Or, are we still bound by one thread that is causing us to loop around in twisted frustration? At what point in this thwarted and un-natural growth will we, will you, allow the Gardener to clip the strings that are holding you back? Are you hanging onto the string that once supported you, but now just deforms you? Are you beginning to feel the lack of spiritual nutrition? Are your blooms withering? Is your fruit dehydrating? Or, has your branch just snapped from your own weight and your struggle with the string?
Spring Strings
Spring Strings
I am an avid gardener. Okay, maybe not avid, because honestly I’m not even sure what that would entail. But, I do love gardening, and, for the most part, I am pretty proficient at it. I think I love every single part of gardening, except maybe the bugs…but, that is the favorite part for some of my kids. From turning the soil to planting the seeds, and to watering and pulling the weeds; gardening is wonderfully satisfying. But there is nothing more satisfying to me in the garden than smelling the sweet scent of the ripened fruits at harvest. What a life-cycle. What a God-cycle.
Tomatoes especially are my favorite things to grow. This, probably, has something to do with how much I like the taste of the fruits and also how versatile they are in my kitchen. It also has something to do with the fact that my family loves to make salsa. Our sun ripened tomatoes and fresh grown peppers make a crisp, fresh, right-from-the-garden salsa that has a reputation. The fruits of our plants are tell-tale of the time, energy, and love that we pour into that silly patch of dirt. But, that’s not what we are here to discuss. In fact, “the fruits” is a whole other topic. Today, while in the tomato section of the garden, the Lord showed me something. And that something is what I want to share with you. My focus is the plant itself.
Is the tomato plant a vine or a bush? Honestly, I don’t care. There are many, many varieties of tomatoes. And, in my garden the plants can grow pretty much the way they desire as long as each produces fruit and that fruit then ripens in the sun. The sun is the only thing that will bring the fruit to that extreme taste of palatable pleasure…which is, of course, our goal. At that point, it can call itself whatever it likes. Some plant varieties grow slow and some much more quickly. Some bloom more and some less. And some produce larger fruit than others. But, the percentage of fruit that each plant bears to ripened harvest is completely dependent on how well the branches grow.
The best way to support a branch is to bind it for a short while. The branch, fed by the roots, continues to grow and becomes stronger. And although the branch is stuck in that position for a time, it is still healthy. However, when a branch is secured in that position for too long, the branch grows in a most peculiar way. When it increases in length, but cannot move beyond the string or other means that has supported it, a loop of stem begins to form and grow behind the string that offered it temporary security. As this loop increases in size, the stem becomes deformed. It seems to be in constant struggle with both the source that binds it and the source that feeds it; twisting and turning and pulling against its own growth. If the gardener does not clip the string, releasing the branch, then inevitably the branch will collapse on its own weight. Bending and crimping, the life will be stifled from its fruit. The fruit will dry up, rot, and then perish completely. The branch stops producing blooms and often will wither and die itself…leaving a tangled mess of dead, brittle stems and leaves for the plant and the gardener to deal with.
In our spiritual lives, how are we bound? Have we needed the support of some means, but are now ready to be released…but are too afraid? Or, are we still bound by one thread that is causing us to loop around in twisted frustration? At what point in this thwarted and un-natural growth will we, will you, allow the Gardener to clip the strings that are holding you back? Are you hanging onto the string that once supported you, but now just deforms you? Are you beginning to feel the lack of spiritual nutrition? Are your blooms withering? Is your fruit dehydrating? Or, has your branch just snapped from your own weight and your struggle with the string?
This spring, is it time to ask the Gardener to clip some strings? This Gardener cannot only free your branches and nurture your growth; He can straighten the deformed, heal the broken, and restore all that is withered. He will stretch you out and wrap your crimped wounds and support you as you mend. And, when your blooms turn to succulent fruit that ripen in His light, He will inhale their fragrant aroma with a deep breath…and smile.
In obedience
Rhonda D Loucks
What can you expect? Straight talk, laughable humor, real truth, simple living, and passionate yearning...
all regarding the God that still involves Himself in the details of the lives of His people