A new raised bed
Roses planted
Roses and Little Johns planted
When we moved to Newbury Park back in 2009, we bought a fixer upper. Maybe the last two words should be in bold and all caps. After a year remodeling the interior, we then crafted a backyard sanctuary. A water feature became the focal point in a corner, with a stream and waterfall and small pond. Some greenery flanked it to soften the look: a purple lilac vine on the left and a jasmine on the right grew abundantly. So when we returned to Temecula in 2015, we wanted to duplicate our Shangri La. A slightly different water feature, and the same plants.
Big mistake. Temecula weather runs about 10-15 degrees hotter in the summer and as much colder in the winter. The lilac vine never thrived, barely blooming and was just scraggly mess, and we had to replace the jasmine twice. This summer it started to grow, then a week of up to 118 degrees burned the top half. I finally gave in to what Sheila had suggested over a year before: we cut our losses. Those plants got ripped out, replaced by iceberg roses and dwarf bottle brush plants that we knew did well in our town. The pics show the process.
Sometimes we all need to cut our losses. To realize our dreams and plans just didn’t work out. That a desired job has run its course. That the church home we loved has been outgrown. That some relationships should be modified, or ended. That how we follow God might be deepened or improved. That…well, the list could go on.
So, from bitter experience, a couple of pruning tips for our lives.
1. Evaluate your life regularly. What’s working well, what isn’t? Why is it not functioning as you had hoped? What do trusted friends suggest? God does want us to do this, “Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil” (Thessalonians 5:21-22).
2. Give it a chance. One of my mistakes has been cutting my losses too soon, without taking the time and energy to find out for sure. I like Paul’s relationship advice in Romans 12:18 that we live in peace with others, “as far as it depends on you.” Or, we need to do all we can before cutting our losses, as we fertilized and watered and pampered those pathetic plants.
3. Pray and ponder and evaluate options. Rather than rashly cutting our losses, take some time to think about it, to pray, and to evaluate options. With our plants, I didn’t want to rip them out until we had something in mind and in hand to replace them.
4. Use biblical principles as a standard to evaluate life. My mistake: not talking to local gardening experts, but using plants that worked in a different climate. Our new plants are seen all over our town, and the iceberg roses thrive in our front yard. On the more important life issues, find relevant principles from the Creator of life that can apply.
And our goal in all of this? To better align our lives with God, to enhance our intimacy with him, and to live the optimal life He desires for us.
Kick Starting the Application
An “easier” application this week, just go over the four steps and ponder them!