Revival

Rosa Filipe “Kiftsgate” in its glory  (Photo by Cherie Christensen) July 2000

In 2007 we decided to tackle the dead-since-two-years-ago wood on the “Kiftsgate” rose at the entrance to our cottage. It is the type of rose that could engulf a house. In fact in England several cottages have disappeared under them. It has grown for years without much water, planted in a cutout of a flagstone patio at the foot of a post holding up a roofed trellis. It's small profuse July white blossoms made a canopy over our heads as we enter and leave our home. After staining the cottage and a winter storm, it began to die. One side was completely dead. On the other side were some canes at the base cutting lose from the nibbling deer and beginning to find their way up the post to the trellis again. “Now or never,” we decided to make room for the new shoots working for several days with a ladder and long-handled pruners making room for the new growth, winding it along the now bare trellis to start training the bush once again.

 

Rosa Filipe “Kiftsgate” revived July 2012

I wrote in an old blog post that I’ve thought a lot about dead wood over the years. I have a lot of it, old ways of acting, behaving especially in difficult circumstances that don't help anything new to grow. Time is ripe for freedom and a movement of the spirit here. My dead wood needs to go. It doesn't feel very good to be pruned or bear the scars, but I know that this is the only way new branches leaves, flowers can grow unobstructed and beauty returned.  This year the fruit of pruning appears. Rejoice in new life.

How are you preparing for revival? What needs to be taken away in your life that is keeping the beauty of new growth at bay?

Triumph over struggles

January ornamental pear branch triumph after November leader limb loss

 

This week with “el Niño” temperatures rising into the 60’s, I decided to get outside to push the plants’ and my own boundaries, inspired also by a short 20 minute movie sent via RSS from Michael Hyatt, “The Butterfly Circus.”

1.Cleaning up garden: The sunny, spring-like day shows off a host of problems: windows streaked and dirty, twigs and branches scattered on ground from storms, plastic parts and garbage spewed around from workers. I cleaned up the former and cut dead plants to the ground, placing plant debris in a compost bin, hired some window washers.

Clean me: Jesus, show me my blind spots that only your light can make visible. By your grace let me see those around me that need your words of truth and hope spoken to them.

”Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.” Ephesians 4:15-16

2.Pruning: I usually leave spent flowers with seeds on the plants through the winter for the birds, but since I am feeding them more regularly this winter, I tidied up the garden, pruning plants that the frost killed.
Prune me: I ask you Lord to take from me anything that is dead wood, spent blossoms, unproductive time-taking activities so I may be of use to you. So instead of social media we did the real social and invited influential people who have never been to our home before (another reason to clean up the garden)

“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

3.Moving out of the box: We moved a windmill palm from the walkway to the hot border to fill in for the cut back melianthus major.

 Move me: I pray that the Lord might take me out of the box, my safe place. No matter how stuck I feel, God has a different plan.

 

"For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God…” Ephesians 6:12-13a

 One line in the movie stands out, “The greater the struggle, the more glorious the triumph.” I hope you take the time to view it, bookmark it, or download to watch it later.

 

 Are you willing to go to the places where God seems missing and to see with His eyes those without hope and speak His truth?

 

Can you trust God’s plan for you is closer than ever in the struggles?

What is the next step to where God wants you? I will pray for you.

 

Dealing with thorns

Photo by Cherie Christensen

Kittsgate rose covering cottage several years ago

Goldfinch in the thistles

This week I've been pulling and cutting back thistles and stuffing them in black plastic bags so they won't spread to the neighbors. They made their many points on my arms and legs, putting up a fight before I put them in the sack, but I won the battle though scarred. One year I kept a field full of thistles just to watch the goldfinch. It was wonderful to see, but the neighbors and us suffered with more than twice the thistle the next year. So I purchase thistle seed and put it out in the Droll feeder and I stop and enjoy the goldfinch before I cut the thistles down. I know they both will be back.

Since I was already beaten up, I decided to tackle the dead-since-two-years-ago wood on the Kittsgate rose bush that climbed to the roof and over a trellis making an archway to the entrace to our home. It is the type that could engulf the house. In fact in England several cottages have disappeared under them. It has grown for years without much water with small profuse July white blossoms making a canopy over our heads as we enter and leave our home. Two years ago after a winter storm, it began to die. I noticed that one side was completely dead and the other, some canes cutting lose from the nibbling deer and beginning to find their way up the post to the trellis again. Now or never I decided. The dead wood needed to go to make room for the new shoots. More puncture wounds from thorns. I worked for several days with a ladder and longer handled pruners and made room for the new growth, winding it along the now bare trellis to start training the bush once again.

As I look at the sores on my legs and arms, how Jesus suffered wounds and death to set me free flitted across my mind. I have been thinking a lot about dead wood lately. I have a lot of it, old ways of acting, behaving that don't help anything new to grow. Time is ripe for freedom and a movement of the spirit here. My dead wood, the ways of thinking and acting in difficult circumstances, needs to go. It doesn't feel very good to be pruned or bear the scars, but I know that this is the only way new branches leaves, flowers can grow unobstructed and beauty returned. As I look out the window from our bed in the morning, I miss seeing the birds perched on the branches (and thistles) but they will be back and both the rose and I renewed.