a friend of mine was recently on vacation in north carolina. during their stay, the family went to an arboretum. while walking through, they came upon a bonsai exhibition. she saw the placards and, holy, object lesson, batman! she took pictures and shared them on her facebook page and again in her lovely blog that you can find here. these are the quotes that she was impacted by:
--Pruning is an essential ingredient in creating a bonsai. The gardener chooses which parts to remove or to leave, based on the mental image of the best shape possible for the subject plant.
--Repositioning various parts of the plant is often necessary to achieve the desired result.
--Root pruning allows the plant to grow indefinitely in a container without becoming pot-bound. Great care must be taken to do this work at the correct point in the growth cycle and to avoid aggressive pruning.
--While the initial work of the bonsai is now complete, it will never be considered "finished" as long as the plant is alive. The gardener will continue to maintain and develop the desired shape of the bonsai as it grows, always striving to refine the design while promoting excellent health in the living plant.
when i saw the pictures, and read the words, i was immediately impacted with thoughts of myself and how the Lord deals with me. like, slap in the face kind of impact. the gardener is in full control of the bonsai. of how and where it grows. the gardener is the one with the big picture. the bonsai doesn't get to choose what it looks like. it just grows and 'trusts' the gardener to do what is best. and the tree is never 'finished', it is always being worked on.
we will be moved, repositioned and pruned, but always with the utmost care and love by the knowledge of the One who knows best.
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