My mom told me last night that it was "redbud winter." It does help to know that the cold weather we have had is going to a good cause: beautiful redbud trees! While the nights here are still chilly, yesterday was actually a gorgeous day--warm, sunny, bright--and I noticed that my crepe myrtles are starting to bloom! Yay!
A few weeks ago, a friend at church, Bill (our resident crepe myrtle expert LOL!), told me how to prune my crepes so that they will do well this year. My crepes are in their third season, and I had never pruned them. When Derek and I, along with his buddy Lucas, went outside to prune them, all three of us hesitated. "Mom," Derek said, "are you sure?"
I stood poised with the clippers in my hands, and I just repeated what Bill had told me. "Cut them to about here (knee high), and they will grow taller than a man and bloom all summer."
I began to cut.
"Mom!" Derek cried out. "What if they don't grow back?"
I want you to know that my stomach was in knots as I tried to cut those bushes down. Lucas ended up doing most of it, and Derek and I dragged the limbs away. But guess what I noticed today? Those crepes are already beginning to grow and get buds on them!
Sometimes, in our lives, God tells us to prune things away in order to gain new growth. When that happens, it is easy to question the truth of what He has said. We begin to play the "what if" game and that can create a lot of confusion in our minds and hearts. If that is going on in your life right now, please keep repeating what the real Expert has to say! Then just do it! Do it with your stomach in knots! Do it because you trust the One who knows what He's talking about.
*Don't forget to check back at noon for Mom's Tip of the Day!
1 comment:
Wow, I needed to hear that. Thanks!
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