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Cuttings
by Patty Wysong I love my house plants. What can I say? I water them, talk to them and play Mozart for them and they love me for it--sure, they like the nice sunny house my husband built, but it's the Mozart they thrive on--much to my kids' dismay. When my parents visited this spring, my bamboo got a hair cut and I salvaged the cuttings by sticking them in a pretty little vase, figuring I had nothing to lose. Every so often I'd peer in, checking for signs of growth and finally I saw root nubbins. I was elated. I eyed the narrow neck of my vase and knew their life in there was limited...then life got busy. Guess who forgot about finding a new home for my bamboo cuttings? Yup. Me. Last week I peered into my pretty little vase again. My elation was mixed with dread because there was a mass of roots--roots that wouldn't easily slip through that narrow neck. Rather than take care of it right away, like I should have, I put it off. Again. Today I noticed a start of a big main root and knew I'd waited too long. I tried to be gentle. Truly I did. But I could hear the roots groaning as I wiggled the shoots, jockeying them into position to slide them out one at a time. The roots flexed and as I eased one shoot out, the second one fell into place and slid right out, almost painlessly. I heaved a sigh of relief as I set them in a water glass and checked out my vase. Only a few root hairs were in there, so maybe, just maybe, I didn't tear out too many roots and set the bamboo back too much. There have been times God's given me a hair cut and gotten rid of things that were out of balance for where I was at that time in my life. Just like that bamboo was top heavy and needed trimming. When God trims me, us, back, He sometimes picks out choice cuttings to put in a vase so they can develop roots of their own in order to eventually be transplanted into their own pots where they grow and flourish. Nurture those cuttings as God sets them in vases--don't just cry over the trimming He gave you. Rejoice in it because those trim jobs allow you to become fuller and more beautiful--well rooted and not top heavy. He's the Master Gardner and He knows what's best. Allow Him full access and He'll grow you and shape you into a plant that flourishes for His glory. And that's the key: for His glory! Happy growing! Patty Wysong is a Christian wife and homeschool mom of 5 who is passionate about wrapping lessons in pretty packages that will point others to God. Blog: http://pattywysong.blogspot.com/ Article Source: http://www.faithwriters.com |