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\u00a0\u00a0As I said last week, I\u2019ve been trimming and tying up the young rose cuttings from last year, and imagining a conversation I could have had with one of them. The particular rose in the photo had one long strong branch coming out of the main stem, reaching out to the side. It\u2019s head wasn\u2019t particularly strong looking and certainly wasn\u2019t a good shape. So I picked the strong stalk up and tied it firmly \u00a0into an upright position onto the stake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOuch!\u201d exclaimed the rose, \u201cThat hurts!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019m sorry about that,\u201d\nI said, \u201cBut this is how I want you to grow. I want you to look up and grow into\na taller plant with your head on higher things.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The rose got a bit sulky\nat that and muttered, \u201cI wanted to grow my branches out low, down to the ground\nbecause that\u2019s how I would be if you weren\u2019t watching me. After all, I AM a\ncarpet rose you know!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I looked further along the row and saw a\nrose that I had trained a few years earlier. It is tall, with a bushy head looking up to the sky, and is covered with\nflowers being a thing of beauty and joy to everyone who sees it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cDo you see that rose over there?\u201d I asked the\none I was dealing with, \u201cThat\u2019s how you will look too in a couple of years time. You will be\nable to have other flowers growing beneath your branches instead of being a\ntangled mess lying on the ground with other branches growing all over the\nplace. You are a good strong plant and have great potential if you obey my\npruning and staking!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI suppose so,\u201d sighed\nthe one I was dealing with, \u201cBut it\u2019s not very nice being tied up tight like\nthis. It hurts when you take my little side branches off too!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019 all for your own\ngood, my dear,\u201d I said, \u201cand you will thank me for it one day!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This little story has an application that we\nshould all take to heart. It is only as we respond to the tying and staking of\nthe Master Gardener in our life, and lift our heads to look up into His face\nthat we will be able to reach our full potential that He plans for us. Yes,\nthere will be experiences that we could well do without, but if we remember that\nHe always knows what is best and can see the wider plan, we can take it all\nhappily and rest in knowing His love for us.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0As I said last week, I\u2019ve been trimming and tying up the young rose cuttings from last year, and imagining a conversation I could have had with one of them. The particular rose in the photo had one long strong branch coming out of the main stem, reaching out to the side. It\u2019s head … Continue reading Reaching for the Sky!<\/span>