Valentine’s Day I took the plunge. Knowing it was the recommended day for pruning rose plants in North Texas, and looking for any excuse I could find to get outside and enjoy the sunny 65-degree day, I overcame the intimidation and did it. I researched a few pruning tips online, gathered my leather gloves and clippers, and trimmed back my Belinda rose bush.
Having just attended the Ash Wednesday service at our church the night before, I worked on the rose bush and thought about the pruning God is doing in my life during this season of Lent.
“I am the true vine and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that does not bear fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, so that it will be even more fruitful.” John 15:1-2
God revealed to me my own life step-by-step as I worked on the bush:
– Removing the dead canes, I thought about how God wants to remove the worthless things in my life that do not contribute towards the purposes He has for me.
– As I snipped off small green stems I thought about the areas in my life that may seem okay, but are draining energy away from the areas in my life that God deems as top priority for this season. Actually, those “good parts” sometimes take the greatest courage to remove. But I know God will free up my energy for the “best parts” when I allow the pruning process.
– Some branches were healthy and nice sized, but they overlapped, which can make rose bushes prone to disease. So they had to go. I wonder how many times my schedule has overlapping parts that create an atmosphere of stress and worry that crowd out my joy and peace. If branches are too crowded, they can’t get enough sun. In the same way, if all my time is committed to busy activity, it leaves no time for prayer or reading the Bible– I can’t get enough of the Son.
– I then removed the inward growing branches. Outward is the healthy way for the bush to grow. I pray regularly that God would deliver me from my selfish ways and give me His love for others, spending my time and energies to reach outward. It’s amazing how healthy I become when I focus on others instead of myself.
– Next I scattered a few tablespoons of *Epsom salt around the base of my bush, and water it. Colossians 4:6 says, “Let your speech always be with grace, seasoned with salt, that you may know how you ought to answer each one.” I pray my speech and life are salty enough to cause others to thirst for the living waters of salvation found in Christ.
– Although my bush looked pretty pitiful when I was finished, I encouraged myself that it will look beautiful in its time. Roses are perfectly capable of sending new shoots out of old branches, even if they are the size of tree trunks! This reminds me that even as I age God can continue to bring new and fresh fruit through me for His glory and honor. I need not fear letting go of the old works that God has done. He is always doing new things.
“The Word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul, spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12-13
Father, I praise you for being the Master Gardener. Thank you for doing your pruning with tender loving care. Give me the discipline to daily be in your Word, knowing it is one of your most valuable tools in this pruning process. I pray that I might bear a lifetime of fruit for your honor and glory. Amen.
*Here are some practical gardening tips using the inexpensive household ingredient Epsom salt:
Epsom salt is an inexpensive and organic fertilizer for the rose plant that increases the size of the roses, provides a rich color to the flower, and increases the number of buds on the plant.
Before planting a rose bush soak its roots overnight in a solution of Epsom salt and water (about ½ cup of salt in 1 gallon of water). In the hole that you have prepared to plant the roses, put another tablespoon of crystals before you put the plant in. After planting, put another ½ cup of Epsom salt in the soil and mix down to two inches deep.
For plants already in the ground, scatter one tablespoon of Epsom salt for each foot your rose bush is high at the base of each rose bush, then water the plant. Do this in the Spring and again in the Fall. Dissolve a tablespoon per gallon of water then spray on plants after leaves appear and again when the roses bloom.
*This inexpensive household product is also said to be helpful for tomato and pepper plants. The magnesium sulfate in it increases chlorophyll production and helps plants use phosphorus and nitrogen better. When transplanting tomato and pepper plants, sprinkle one tablespoon around each transplant. Then spray them with 1 tablespoon of Epsom salt per gallon of water at the first planting, again when blossoms appear, and at fruit set.
Prepare garden soil by sprinkling up to 1 cup of Epsom salt per 100 square feet, then work it into the soil before seeding or planting.