Fill your mind with God's Word and truth. We all need plenty of "sonshine."
We have been blessed for many years to have a dependable guy cut the grass, and trim all the bushes. Unfortunately he was in an auto accident about a month ago, and will not be able to do all that he has in the past, at least for a while. I tell him all the time, this hibiscus bush does better when he cuts it back. He never argued with me, but he never cut it all the way back. I don't think he believed me when I told him you have to cut out the "dead wood." I think he has always been afraid to do that. So in his absence, I have taken over that role of "bushes trimmer." This particular bush started out as a potted plant. It is beautiful because it has "double flowers on it." As you can see, there's not much left of this poor little bush.
As I was pruning the branches I realized that all the flowers were at the very top of the bush. There were no flowers anywhere on the rest of the bush. As I got into the middle, each of the branches were spindly, and weak. It finally occurred to me that only the very top of the bush got sun, and rain.
Wiping the sweat from my face, I stood back and looked at this now pathetic little tree. And realized the similarities. Lately, it feels like the Lord has been pruning my "branches". When I don't take the time to sit in the morning, and get all the "sonshine" from my devotions, and Bible, my "flowers" are only on the outside. Not much on the inside. My heart and soul become weak and spindly.
I think writing this blog had a two-fold message. The other one is maybe Jack will see what I did to "his" hibiscus, before he comes back. I wanted to break it to him slowly. I only meant to trim that bush.
I had a beautiful hibiscus once but lost it to a freeze. Like several other plants and a couple of trees to one of our occasional freezes that come along every two or three years to tell us that we don't live in the tropics. But some plants like the second jasmine that we have planted in the same spot because the earlier one froze, have come back after freezes by "cutting back all of the dead wood."
I cannot get lawncare people to trim/prune properly unless I individually supervise them while they are doing it. So, I have gradually taught my partner who has a green thumb to do the pruning and she is catching on gradually but quite well. My only regret is that she has taken to pruning my hair. I feel a bit like Sampson because I still have all my hair and it is a bit unruly but combs nicely. Unfortunately, she has taken to "cutting back" my hair drastically, even stating that she will, "bald," me! I don't want to turn into an altar [intentional misspelling] right skinhead! I'm not try to cover up my small bald spot!
