Making Way for Beauty

by Kellie GS

Sometimes a bit of pruning is necessary to make way for new life.

I worked in the flower garden at my father-in-law’s home the other night. It is a relaxing place full of memories. He has a beautiful historic Colonial home that dates to the early 20th century. His back garden includes a couple of courtyards and trailing stone paths. The courtyards are framed by latticed red brick walls with English ivy peaking through. Three fountains provide ambience. However, the real focal point of these gardens are the flowers, none less spectacular than the red rose bushes.

These roses are such a reminder of the beauty of life! As I pruned away the dead rose heads, I pondered how it seems such a terrible pity to trim away the lovely little masterpieces. I considered that when those enchanting, yet decaying buds are firmly attached to the primary body of growth, life is not truly lost. Those eye-catching blooms present their beauty again and again. When the old is cut away, more life emerges.

My husband was a biology major and has a serious plant hobby. He explained to me that there is an inhibiting hormone produced at the end of the branches of most flowering shrubs. When the tops of the branches are snipped, it allows other dormant buds to awaken, bringing new life and color to the surface.

My daughter Hannah, my mother-in-law Frances, and all departed saints have light & beauty that "bloom" forever under the Master Gardener's caring hands. Though my clumsy hands slipped at times and accidentally snipped away fresh blooms, I found comfort in the truth that God never makes pruning mistakes and holds us tightly to Him, our immovable mainstay.