Adriana Trigiani is one of my favorite fiction writers. My name has been on on the long list requesting this book at our local library for quite some time. Finally I got the notice that it was my "turn".
So last night I was comfortably settled in a lawn chair, enjoying the first chapters. If you've visited my yard and garden blog in the last 24 hours, you already know the rest of the story!
I looked up between chapters and saw this bush
as it WAS
and as it COULD be.
I couldn't rest until it was done!
Of course that meant that my husband couldn't rest either.
And so we went to work.
What a difference!
We pruned. We hauled off the branches.
We transplanted some hosta.
We watered.
I couldn't help but thinking about how the Master Gardener,
seeing what IS and what COULD be,
is pruning me...hauling off some branches...
transplanting and watering.
And He won't stop until He's finished!
And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you
will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
Philippians 1:6
That looks great. I have a better idea...you come here, bring the hubs and I will have some pruning for ya to do. Or we could just sit and yak. Whatev.:)
ReplyDeleteYou DO have good ideas, Ms. Fox!
DeleteThe transformation is awesome Rebecca! What a great team you and Gary are! What type of bush is that? Love Di ♥
ReplyDeleteEvery once in a while, I can remember what kind of bush it is, Di. (This is not one of those "once in a whiles", however.)
DeleteVery pretty! (I love the hosta too! Something about hosta planted beneath a tree or bush like that is so appealing to me.)
ReplyDeleteAnd the Master Gardener's work is very pretty too! His work in you is perfection!
Love and Prayers,
Eileen
Oh, I just love this! What a transformation! If we can "redo" a tree, just think what He can do with a willing heart!!
ReplyDeleteGlenda, Your observation ("a willing heart") is SO thought-provoking for me. I'm thinking of the old song "Just As I Am" - "while I am waiting, yielded and still".
DeleteI am glad God see's us as we can be...pruning is necessary. :-/
ReplyDeleteyou have me curious about the book? BEAUTIFUL job!!
ReplyDeleteI enjoy all of her books - She's Italian & writes with an Italian flair - about Italians! You SHOULD like them!
Deleteand I meant to add, BEAUTIFUL ANALOGY!!!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful!
ReplyDeleteThat looks so great! I would have never thought of that!
ReplyDeleteWhat a huge difference. My HOPE is that during this time in the wilderness waiting on Him....He's gonna make a big difference in me, too!!! Great post....and the bush looks great now!!
ReplyDeleteLovely. I've been impressed lately to ask God to dig around my roots a bit. I worry if I don't feel like I'm seeing spiritual growth. Life, you know, keeps my mind busy with all those life things. I need to do some focusing on God things.
ReplyDeleteYou always introduce me to such great reads.
This IS a great read - and so are the Elizabeth Von Arnim books. None of them are "spiritual" reading in the strictest sense of the word (but neither is Horton Hatches the Egg - and have you read that lately? I sat and bawled as I read it! My husband is going to refer to it in his Father's Day message and we read the whole book together!) Sometimes God speaks to me in what I might consider "secular" so loudly I can't miss Him. Life and godliness are linked closely for me sometimes, it seems.
DeleteHi Rebecca,
ReplyDeleteThat was a great analogy, and oh so true! and your bush looks great by the way.
Thanks for coming by to visit, so glad to hear you have experienced the cabin
in the mountain with the river behind it life too. A wonderful experience for sure.
Hope all is well with you and yours hon,
blessings, Nellie
This is such a hope-filled post; the pruning writes a witness all its own. Thank you for sharing.
ReplyDeletepeace~elaine
I love before and after pictures things. I like to see before and after LIVES, too when the Lord does the gardening.
ReplyDeleteOh Rebecca.... I love the transformation....
ReplyDelete-- and want to become everything God wants.
It's a surrender thing isn't it.
Thank you for sharing this beautiful post.
xoxo
Seeing the before and after photos made such a difference, too. Gardeners say that the "legs" of the bushes are better off seen than hidden. But it takes a skilled treecutter to do the job well. You and hubs did such a wonderful job!
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful analogy as well...
Blessings
Lidia