Pruning for Growth

Activities, Activities, Activities...

The past several weeks activities have been going around in circles in my head with one resounding theme,

 "What should we be involved in this coming year?"

I love having my kids explore their different interest and talents and have always wanted to nurture that, but when does it become excessive. I sat down and looked at my projected weekly calendar for the fall, and immediately my brow furrowed and my discouragement began to grow. How can I manage to keep up with this pace, get our schooling done, and give my little ones what they need as well. Honestly, my first thought was to formulate a workable plan and plow on through, which on paper I achieved, but my heart knew about three weeks in we would start to feel the affects. Peace was alluding me.

I had questions flooding my brain at all hours of the day. Yes, I did lose some sleep over it. Every time I came back to just one ALL encompassing question that needed to be answered,

“What does God want us to focus on this year and be involved in?”

To answer this question, it meant I would need to let go of MY reasoning and use HIS. I would need to let go of MY plan and FOLLOW HIS. I would need to let go of MY fears and TRUST HIM. Simply I would need to LET GO and that is something I am not good at.

Through the process of much prayer and seeking, God showed me His Will through these few verses and spoke to my heart in a way that brought tears to my eyes.

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.” John 15: 1-2 (NIV)

God the Father wanted us to “cut back” our schedule and let GROWTH occur.

In the ESV it says “my Father is the vine-dresser”. Of course we know that a gardener/vine-dresser prunes back that which is dead and no longer beneficial, but I could honestly still see benefit to our activities. What I didn't key in to till someone else pointed it out was that they also cut away living tissue to strengthen the vine and produce more fruit. OUCH! This means sometimes the pruning isn't just what is dead and no longer beneficial, but that which needs to be cut so that GROWTH can occur and it might be painful for a short time.

God has been showing me areas where He wants me to help my kids grow, where He wants me to grow, and where our family needs to grow. Now we need to prune back that which isn't allowing that growth to happen and “fertilize” what is left and watch it bloom. It's hard cutting back, but after all, the main goal is to stay connected to the vine and we must let the Gardner prune us now and then so we continue to grow in Him.

May the Lord GROW us this year

The writing on the walls..........

Sweet little giggles come escape under the door and dance into my ears while doing the dishes, a sound that makes me smile. As soon as the dishes are complete though, I decide to go sneak a peak and what these precious little angels are doing when they are suppose to be resting. I dry my hands and begin making my way to their room. As I approach I hear, “Mom's coming!” and the sounds of little bodies propelling themselves into bed, no doubt to pretend to be sleeping. I open the door and that is when I see it.

The writing on the wall

Oh my, this isn't just a little writing. It is a mural covering all 4 walls, the closet door, and back of the bedroom door. It doesn't stop there, it proceeds to envelop the play kitchen, toy box, and windowsills as well. It goes almost 6 feet up in some locations where things could be stood on. This fine example of expression is completely done in BLACK crayon. Needless to say it isn't exactly what I had in mind when I daydreamed about redecorating their rooms.

We march off to the kitchen for each girl to get a dishtowel with soapy water on it, and back to their rooms we go. It is time to scrub those black marks off the wall.

Five minutes goes by.... “Mom, it isn't coming off” 

Ten minutes goes by.... “I can't do this, it won't come off”

Thirty minutes goes by....”Mom, I am tired, my arms hurt and it won't come off”.

Aren't we all just like these little girls. We might not take black crayons and draw all over the room, but we do let sin tempt us with its promises of fun times and self-expression, leaving black marks upon our hearts. Just like my girls learned today, those black marks are not easy to get off. In fact, just like my girls scrubbed with soapy water and good intentions to no avail, the results for us will be just the same. We can't wash sin away with good works, those black marks will still shine though. The only way to rid our hearts of such ugliness is through the redeeming blood of Jesus. That's right, Jesus blood is our Magic Eraser for the heart, only it is All-Powerful and there is no sin too tough for it to wash clean.

As we sat and talked about how wrong writing on the wall is and making the parallel to the sin in our hearts, I watched 3 little girls begin to internalize the Truth. My girls may not totally understand the sinful depraved nature we are born with, or their desperate need for a Savior quite yet, but these teachable moments are the thread that God is weaving together in their tapestry to show them the picture of Himself.

I didn't continue to make my girls scrub to no avail, my compassion kicked in, and they were allowed to quietly sit on their beds while Mom began the task of cleaning the walls. My arms are tired and the job will take more time to complete than I have at this moment, but my girls will sit quietly on their beds and watch each time I work at cleaning the walls, remembering the lessons we are learning today.

Thank you Lord for Teachable Moments

Oh the things people say.........

"That is way to many kids anyways."

Stunned to silence.  What do you say to a person who has such a negative opinion of how God has choosen to bless your family. Comments like this mornings do tend to come our way quite often, but it never ceases to amaze me from just whom you will hear them.  They pop up in the most unexpected places, today at the library we encountered such  negativism about our family size, and not from a fellow patron.  I was taken off guard.

I could have responded back with a comment of my own, "Well it isn't any of your business" for frankly it isn't.  Or a nicer approach, "Thank you for your opinion, but thankfully God doesn't agree with you and has choosen to bless us with these children and will provide all we need to raise them."  Instead I said nothing, until I got in the car and called my husband that is.  Poor guy, gets to hear it all even when he isn't there. 

I wish I could say that when barbs like these come at us, we are immune to them now, but that wouldn't be true.  We still fill their sting, even if it doesn't last as long as it once did, and it still makes me angry.  Our society doesn't value children or the family anymore, apparently even at the library sometimes.  You hear comments about how full your hands are, and glad it is you and not me, everywhere you go.  You get the stares, snickers, whispers, and resentful looks that underscore every outing and sometimes their is that misguided soul that thinks they should enlighten you, in front of your children no less, of how the world operates and that you are in violation of the 2.5 kids rule.

It would be easy to become bitter after awhile, to never want to leave the house, but I have made it my mission to do just the opposite.  I will constantly seek the Lord for strength, patience, and a bridled tongue when dealing with these individuals who have yet to realize it is God's decision of our family size, not theirs.  I will continue to take my children on outings, and yes I will go back to the library next week, see the same lady, and smile real big for I am thankful for my big family.

"See to it that no one misses the grace of God and that no bitter root grows up to cause trouble and defile many."  Heb. 12: 15