While I was deadheading and pruning
my annual flowers, my son asked why I was removing some of the blooms. I told
him that it was necessary to remove blooms that were spent or past their prime
in order to encourage more blooms and to keep the plants healthy. In past
summers, I learned that failing to deadhead and prune results in plants that
are thin, spindly, and lacking in flowers. However, if I am faithful with
pruning, the flowers produce lots of blooms and stay healthy throughout the
summer.
That
conversation with my son got me to thinking about how odd it sometimes seems to
remove blooms from a flower and how that applies to our lives. This past year, some
college students have talked with me about how difficult it can be to remove
good things from their lives. Everything they are doing (i.e. studying for
class, mentoring other students, Bible study, teaching children and youth, spending
time with friends, etc.) is good. I have experienced similar times of decision.
Several years ago, I was involved in several areas of ministry. After some
time, I came to the realization that some things needed to stop. It wasn’t that
any of those things was bad; it was just that I was being spread too thin. By
thinning out and pruning some areas of service, I was able to focus on children’s
ministry and youth ministry. I found that by cutting out some of the blooms in
other areas, new blooms blossomed in the remaining areas.
Isn’t this
what God wants for us? He knows how we will blossom in certain areas. He knows
that in order for those areas to blossom, other seemingly healthy blooms must
be pruned. It’s difficult for us to understand when we are in the middle of the
situations. It is then that we need to seek guidance from a mentor or close
friend that can help us see where our gifts lie or what is needed for our
proper growth. Often we know the answers to our questions before we ask them;
we just don’t want to lose that bloom or branch. God wants to shape us into the
beautiful plant he knows we can be.
So, yeah, I
had to give up serving in some areas that I enjoyed. But I have grown in the
other areas into which I put more time and energy. As you enjoy the flowers of summer, keep in mind what is necessary to get those beautiful blooms.
