PRUNING!

Ya.
Today may have not been the best day to prune the lilac bush.
With how frustrated and angry I am feeling.....

Something that has given me so much joy the past few years,
needed to be pruned back a bit.
A bit.
I didn't really plan today.
Just started whacking away!
The more I cut,
the more seemed to need to be cut.
And I feel oh, so much better now.

I'm sweaty, and itchy, and hot,
but what has been long over due is now done.
There is just something about whacking
that makes you see things differently.
There are things I can control,
and things I cannot.
Things I see so very clearly,
but not everyone can see from my perspective.
So I come home and prune.

I wonder if God ever feels frustrated with us
when it comes to pruning time?
There are certainly things that need to be cut out,
whacked back, trimmed, pulled,
yanked and taken out of our lives.
The things we hang on to so tightly,
things we think make us happy,
things that ultimately will kill off the healthy parts of us.

We need room to breathe, grow, stretch,
even if we fight it with every ounce of energy.

But when it is done?
We may sting a bit from the shears.
The winter comes,
and we slowly bud out again in new directions.
We are able to produce even sweeter smelling flowers
that we were unable to bring forth before our pruning.

So, I know that my little bush may be a sight now.

But I am so looking forward to it's flowers next spring!
And I'm ready to finish mulching now....
then a long hot shower!