So as I was saying... if you enjoy taking care of plants, or enjoy anything about them, you know one thing, that to cut away dead branches is good for the plant. To remove the dead, allows the living part of the plant to thrive without having to support a lifeless limb. The lushness of the colors that shine forth when there is nothing detracting from the life of the plant, gives a sense of zen when just enjoying the beauty of such a simple pleasure.
Grafting however, is a way to add life or change to a plant. The gardner carefully makes specific cuts in the plant, and in the limb that it is to be grafted. He then carefully binds the two together and tenderly cares for the plant until it begins to take hold and grow. God is our master gardener, and he is our master grafter... did that rhyme? ok well maybe not.. but anyway.. all my rambling does have a point, and it begins in one of my favorite books in the bible - Romans. So go grab something warm to drink, come back, and spend some time with me in the hottest romance novel you'll ever read - it's a story of true love. Shall we begin?
Romans 11:17-24, courtesy of Biblegateway.com
17 If some of the branches have been broken off, and you, though a wild olive shoot, have been grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing sap from the olive root,18 do not consider yourself to be superior to those other branches. If you do, consider this: You do not support the root, but the root supports you. 19 You will say then, “Branches were broken off so that I could be grafted in.” 20 Granted. But they were broken off because of unbelief, and you stand by faith. Do not be arrogant, but tremble. 21 For if God did not spare the natural branches, he will not spare you either.
22 Consider therefore the kindness and sternness of God: sternness to those who fell, but kindness to you, provided that you continue in his kindness. Otherwise, you also will be cut off.23 And if they do not persist in unbelief, they will be grafted in, for God is able to graft them in again. 24 After all, if you were cut out of an olive tree that is wild by nature, and contrary to nature were grafted into a cultivated olive tree, how much more readily will these, the natural branches, be grafted into their own olive tree!
I'm going to interject some personal testimony here. I was a dead branch that needed to be cut away. I was prideful, arrogant, judgemental. I wasn't getting what I needed from church. I was looking for acceptance, I was looking for a family, I was looking to God to fix an emotionally damaging marriage and it just wasn't happening. I became hardened, my leaves turned brown, and quietly, I walked away.
Are any of you reading this a parent? What happens when your baby walks away from you, headed for danger? You chase after... Thats what happens when we turn our back on God. He chases after. I walked away but he caught up to me. Before my marriage broke up, God started speaking his loving words over me, He started wooing me, knowing that if I didn't hear his calling, I would become calloused and unusable. I was at the moment between being lost forever, or being brought back to life. In my darkest hour, he washed over me with love and encouragement, tenderly guiding me each day as I took steps in faith to get healthy and come back from the darkness that surrounded me.
Going back to church - I was so afraid... I wanted to go but I needed to be where no one knew me.. I've been hurt by well meaning Christian people, the church itself became something I didn't feel I could trust. So to go to church - it was just going to be about me and God - to remain a stranger. I'm broken, I'm wounded, but I am full of life - and God knows that a branch can not remain alive without being grafted in to a life source. God knows my heart and my need for anonymity right now... he knows how wounded i've been... but he also knows my ending from where I am right now as well. This past weekend at church, I was approached by a woman who wanted to make sure I had been noticed. She asked me to fill out one of those blasted pieces of paper with my name and information so someone could contact me. With a smile on my face and a big hell no in my heart - I told her i'd think about it and graciously walked out the door. I couldn't leave fast enough. What I really wanted to say to her was - You don't know who I am - or what I've been through - and I want to keep it that way.
But isn't it like God, in our hardness to start kneading and softening the clay, to start speaking to me about my attitude! At 2am, he woke me up to share with me about being grafted in... I can hear him whispering to my heart that I'm hardened and hurting, and thats ok for now, but eventually I will have to start letting people in. Even through the pastors words, "God doesn't ask us to trust people, He asks us to trust Him". So like a wounded animal licking its wounds, I am writing this in a corner, wanting to let go of the hardness with maybe a tenth of my heart, and the rest still very guarded, but if I know God like I know God - He's not going to let me stay this way. He calls us to a life of love - and locking people out for fear of being hurt is not life.
Are you still scratching your head trying to figure out how on earth this relates to being grafted and horticulture?
God took me - a dead branch - and breathed new life into me. He took me and grafted me in to a root base that was thriving so that I could be nourished back to health and thrive. I can't thrive on my own - a rootless stem... I need God, Somehow, I need his people.
Pulling out my bible to write this for you, I discovered that I had this note written on the side of Romans 11:17...
"Do not be prideful, but thankful to be in the Lord. He has saved you and the power to reclaim his lost children, and will take them in just as easily as he did you - if not easier".
God will take YOU in! Are you that lifeless branch? Are you suffering? Are you hardened against what was supposed to be love?
Let God take you and breathe new life into you. He's got a great plan for you and can provide you with more blessings than you can dream.
How can I say that with such confidence? Because He is doing it for me... Prayers that I've cried out for are coming true. And every day I wake up is a new answered prayer. I'm growing in leaps and bounds and it's so exciting to be back in his presence, hearing from him, writing for him, singing to him. I'm back on the lap of a loving daddy who ADORES me - ADORES YOU! Come join me - snuggle close - theres tons of room on his lap!
Dear Jesus; Bless the person reading this with a new revelation of you and your amazing power to do all things. You are the creator and author of their story, and their story is not over yet. Breathe new life into their hearts, minds, spirits and bodies and restore them to better than brand new. You are our life source Lord. Only through you can we thrive. Nourish the roots that feed us Lord so that we can flourish and provide the choicest fruit for you. Remove fear and hurts from their hearts Lord, and bring a refreshing rain, courage and love into their lives. Whisper your words of love to them in a new way and open their eyes to see that the pain is over now and let the healing begin. In Jesus name; Amen.
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