What a week.  So many people around me struggling, working on things and trying hard to set lives straight.  One rises on new wings, one falls into the pits of darkness and is trying to find the right direction, one falls ill and cannot seem to find the answers to why, and all seem to be at different stages. 

Odd thing is, again today the gardner was mentioned.  A garder of full meaning in this day and age.  A story was told today of a currant bush.  The bush was bought as part of a farm and was tangled, snarled, and in very rough shape.  The gardner came along and saw the bush out in the field and recognized it for what it was.  He took some sheers and went over to the bush and started to trim out the tangles, the snarls, the crooked parts to set it straight.  As he trimmed, the bush wept sap like tears, and he thought to himself, the bush is crying and asking why are you doing this?  He related it to the lives of those who are trying to come in from the wilderness and darkness.  Sometimes you cannot see the reason why you are cut the way you are, why things are so painful to bear, but those times are the times when the good lord is shaping the spirit, the soul to the way it needs to be.  Those are the times when it is giving a great change to the path and the direction of growth of the whole. 

Sometimes we cannot see if we are meant to be a great tree, or a humble bush, a rose to give flowers or a berry bush to give fruit, but what ends up coming out at the end is the hand of the makers design, the second chance to be and do and say the things that are needed in life.  What happens is not always our choice either.  Sometimes the growth of the wild thorns around can crowd out and wound the tender flesh of the growing spirits around too.  These are the times when the gardner takes extra care to help to tend the wounds and strengthen the roots and branches with the food and water necessary for the plants health.  Other plants may try to steal it, but the vigourous plant will still grow well and strong, as it will still strive to find more and reach for the light, even when the weeds will try to choke it out. 

Life has unexpected twists and turns, and things happen that no one expects from choices of self, choices of others and from just random chance.  You never know just quite what direction things will turn.  But the more you look at the light, the more you work towards it and seek for the truth, and the more you turn to God when things are seeming too painful and dark to bear, the easier it is to get through the trials and work through all the problems thrown at you.  Never give up hope, never give up faith or on the Lord.  There always will be a way if you keep going and keep trying for the things that are right and good in the world.  Someday the trials of Job do end, but it is in the Lords time, not ours.  There will be days that are dark and dreary, and that is part of being in this world, but there will always be the return of the light, always be that next sunrise, the next leaf budding on the tree, the next chance of new growth, of change and advancement.  God knows what he is doing in the garden, and it is up to us to adapt to the changes that come around us.  We will have new neighbors be planted there, old neighbors and friends that are uprooted and moved to other place in the garden, random people who come through and either damage or beautify the garden, but there is always the thread of the plan through it all.  You never know when your heart and spirit will touch and inspire others, will uplift the weary soul, will bandage the wounded one, or cure the sickly heart.

By what you do and say things change, so use care in the things you do and say.  No one will ever know is easy to say, but it is rarely true.  Things do get out, even if it is just one little slip, and people remember for a long time.  However people also see when you are trying to do the right things and are working toward setting things straight.  They will know when you are going the right directions, and will often let the past lay when things are done and gone.  God knows the truth of all things too, and when the price is payed and the sin is payed and repented for, he does not keep reopening the wounds and beating you for it.  People are people and things change in life, hearts, spirits and testimonies, faith and hope.  What is the most important is how you live your own life.  You can raise a child and teach them everything, but sometimes they make their own choices and go astray. As long as you are doing your best, the good lord understands. 

The garden is full of many things and dangers in life, but you can prevent a lot if you keep the worst things far away from your heart and body.  Listen to what the prophets have said.  Avoid temptations like the plagues they are, and if you have one, avoid the areas where you are the weakest.  Distract yourself when you are tempted.  You can master yourself if you truly wish to, and you can find strength in good friends and family.  Be wise, be wary, and be yourself most of all.  You do not have to pretend to be someone you are not to be accepted in life and have true friends.  Do not be afraid to talk to others, as many people love to meet new people and get to know others.  Sometimes people will put up walls, but do not dispair, as there are always ways to find new friends too.  Sometimes change is a good thing too.  God often puts things in places for good reasons, and for good purposes that you cannot see.  Life is too short to be without the people around you, and without knowing the light and joy that can be had in finding the true path that God would have us follow. 

Sometimes the pruning and shaping may hurt, but there is so much good that comes when things are shaped to the path that is true and right.  Do not be afraid to do and say what is right in the eyes of the Lord.  He knows just how hard it is, and just what you are going through.  He understands and is there to help and to comfort in times of need.  Never give up on him, and trust him to help you, because I can promise you if you do your part, he will do his, maybe not in the way you expect, but in ways that are so incredible  that you can never imagine what will come of it.  Best of blessings and hang in there,

Maraleh

Tags: Faith Garden Hope Atonement Repentence Savior Love Pruning Heart Jesus Chri

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