WALKING with JESUS: Life Renewed
I really like spring time. Almost like magic the plants awake from their winter dormancy. The dry, barren tree branches begin to sprout blossoms rendering a color spray that reflects the artistry of our creator. Shoots of green grass begin to wind up through the brown carpet covering the ground, eager to show off new life. Even the tips of evergreen trees and bushes sport a new, vibrant green growth that speaks of their readiness for spring. There is something revitalizing about the season of spring. Whether you are a one-pot wonder, or a gardener extraordinaire, there is an urgency to get busy planting.
Last year, in the spring of 2015, I decided to add some bushes to the open space on both sides of our driveway. It was a lonely space and just screamed to have something, anything planted. I’m not a great gardener, but a trip to a local nursery set me in motion as I viewed all types of starter bushes. I knew I wanted something simple and easy to care for, as well as a bush that would blossom every spring and provide a cheery spray of color to the entrance of our property. I settled on purchasing four, starter azalea bushes. I mean starter – they were small, and I admit they looked pretty puny against our massive driveway. I reasoned that because I am not much of a gardener, I should not go all out and buy costly, more advanced plants. However, the optimist in me knows that all good things start from something and these four little bushes were destined for greatness! I could envision bushes years from now, plump and full grown with vibrant color annually as they greeted each spring. I set about planting them and watering them until about six weeks later. It was apparent that the planned driveway reconfiguring and resurfacing project on our property was not going to be conducive to having these four tiny starter bushes in the space where I planted them. I should have thought of that fact. While my intentions were good, my timing was poor. Just knowing that trucks and heavy equipment would be driving over that area necessitated that I dig up these little bushes and save them by replanting them in large pots. So I did.
I assumed that the driveway project would be wrapped up in about a week and then I could put those little bushes back in the ground – in the space I chose for them. Wrong. The whole driveway process took about 6 weeks, from excavation and ground prep, on through the asphalt application with numerous weather delays in between. When all was said and done the driveway looked fabulous, but there sat these four little starter bushes in pots, having not grown much over the summer. In fact, they were well on their way to demise.
By now the fall season was approaching and I had a decision to make. I could either toss these little bushes out, reasoning that my timing was to blame for their demise. Or I could replant them in the originally intended spaces next to the driveway. Being optimistic, I decided they were worth the chance of resurrection, so I replanted them next to the driveway. It was clear that they would enter dormancy soon after I replanted them and it would be the following spring before I would assess their survival. The gardening season came to a close and I didn’t ponder these four little bushes any further.
As the spring of 2016 slowly poked through, I stood over those four little bushes and sighed. The winter had been less than kind and they didn’t look as if a hint of life was going to move up through the numerous, now dead looking little branches. It was clear that my choice of azalea bushes for this space was probably not the best since the soil content was red clay, not to mention bone dry in the summer. Still, I just couldn’t give up on these four little bushes, and I decided to give them one more chance at life. I replanted them, two on each side of the porch stoop at the front entrance to our home. The soil was better at that location with early morning sun and late afternoon shade. So I added good potting mix to the deep holes I dug and once again these four little bushes were set off in a renewed attempt at growth.
You might be asking by now, “Where is God in this whole story?” I think the more appropriate question is “Where isn’t God in this story?” As you know, it rained and rained most of April and on in to May. Every day I would check on those little bushes and as I stood over them I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Emerging out of the dead, brittle twigs were tiny shoots of green. One twig at a time was being resurrected and restored to its intended purpose. As the roots, long ago withered, began to reach down into the rich soil and soak up the necessary nutrients, the most amazing transformation occurred right before my eyes. These four little bushes that had tried to survive even the direst of circumstances only to end up near death, were now completely turning around to become what God intended for them to be all along, the beautiful azalea bushes He created, enhancing the entrance to our home and providing testimony of His care for even the most insignificant.
Now as I look at these four little bushes, still in their infancy, I am poignantly reminded of how God can make all things new. He can resurrect the most wayward individual from dire circumstances. He can birth new life into someone who has been dormant for what seems like a lifetime. When we plant ourselves into a nutrient rich environment, full of His goodness, He can sprout new life within us. He can give us new direction. He stands ready to birth in us zeal for our relationship to Jesus. The spring season happens every year without fail, but it is easy to take it for granted. We often breeze by the obvious lessons God is showing us through His creation. He is completely in charge, and He can make all things new.
Have you ever felt “mis-planted”? Perhaps you find yourself in that state today. Are you in a circumstance, a job, or even a relationship where you are not thriving, but, in fact, choking? Possibly you are completely depleted physically and spiritually. You are not at all certain how you will make it through even this day. God will always make a way through every situation, but it requires that you submit full authority to Him. Not your will, but His will be done. When you relinquish your will to Him and ask for help and guidance, you will be amazed at how God will meet your needs. Miracles large and small will happen at the right time and at the right pace.
Thinking back to those four little azalea bushes, I made a poor choice in both the timing and the location of their original planting. They could not thrive. How often, in the course of my own life, have I relied on my ability and made careless choices in which I did not thrive, but instead choked trying to survive the circumstances? Eventually, when I completely surrendered my will to God, I was renewed in every aspect and able to see through my circumstances. Sometimes God brought forth new options, but sometimes it was necessary for me to follow through with the original task – but in a new manner.
God alone can bring back to life what we thought was long dead. When we call on him, He hears us. (Psalms 55:16, But I will call on God, and the Lord will rescue me.) When we come before Him, He wells up hope within us. (Psalms 100:2, Worship the Lord with gladness. Come before him, singing with joy.) When we stand before Him with our arms lifted high in praise and adoration, He embraces us. When we run with a new sense of purpose the race He has destined for us to run, we are resurrected to live a life of exceeding joy. (2 Samuel 22:34, He makes me as surefooted as a deer, enabling me to stand on mountain heights.) When you find yourself being tossed from one circumstance to another, like the bushes being replanted numerous times, remember you must return to fertile soil – the living, active Word of God in order to thrive. (Hebrews 4:12, The word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.) As you read the Word of God, the power of the Holy Spirit will resurrect you and guide you in every aspect.
I am grateful for the object lesson that these four little bushes provided. I have been humbled to watch life be renewed in their dead branches, not by my hands, but by the One who created them. For certain, if God can bring forth new life in the plants He created, how much more will He do this for me! (Luke 12:28, If God cares so wonderfully for flowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, He will certainly care for you.) Celebrate new life in Christ, today and always!
Editor’s Note: Do you have a testimony or a devotional that you would like to share with your sisters in Christ? Please contact Etta Watkins, gregetta2003@msn.com or Ella Johnson, chelseymayzck@yahoo.com.
