Yesterday my aunt came to work with me to fix a plant in our building. She asked me to help hold the plant up so she could tie it to a long stick that she had placed into the soil. Those who garden are probably familiar with this process; the goal is to direct the plants growth up instead of out. For potted plants when they are healthy the stalks grow out, similar to vines, they sprawl out far beyond the edges of the pot. Imagine a teenage boy still sleeping in the same bed he did when he was 9; his feet, legs and arms dangling off the edges. The same is true for a plant, so the gardener places a long stick into the soil and ties the long branches to the stick with thread, or even strips of cotton fabric so that the plant will begin to grow upward, like a tree rather than a vine. I think you know where I'm going with this...
So while holding these branches and watching my aunt tie them, apologizing to the plant when she felt she was pulling too hard or tying too tight, I began to think of my favorite Gardener. I started to think about this process from the plants perspective. Poor unassuming plant probably thinking "HEY! What's going on here?! Why are you pulling on me like this? Who are you lady?" I thought boy do those questions sound familiar, well... most of them. I feel like I've been asking them for years now. But seeing things from this perspective changes the way you think about things. See before I knew that God was growing me upward, but now after seeing this I understand why He's growing me up. Just like the teenage boy in a child's bed, or the plant growing vine-like out of the pot God sees that I've outgrown what I'm used to. He wants to grow me up, to make sure that I'm growing towards Him.
Maybe that's what He wants for you too. Maybe you spent all last year thinking "If He loves me so much how could He allow me to hurt so much?" But maybe the pain is the product of Him directing your growth. He want's to see you thrive "not just survive," which requires diligent tending. And unlike us, He makes no mistakes. He knows how far you can bend without breaking, and every leaf and branch that He breaks off He does to protect the whole plant. Trust that He has you right where He wants you.
Green thumbs,
Ina
