Thorns

As I was trimming back this winter's Bougainvillea overgrowth in the backyard, the thorns got me.

I wondered if the crown of thorns were of this kind of plant, and the very thought of that pain was unimaginable, as I had only take a few spikes to the fingers thru the gloves. Serious nerve shots.

As I continued to snip back the branches, easily 10 ft. overgrown, a pattern of failure in my method began to surface: I was going for the big vines and ignoring the small ones, and pulling those out was extremely labouring, inefficient, and caused more pain. Literally. I got to thinking that sin is like that. Unchecked and unattended, if you will, disobedience can grow reckless and wild, while still showing the most beautiful flowers and leaves on the outside. So beautiful that you ignore the choice to tackle the problem and wait for another season...

So, as I am cutting away, I change my methodology. As the living parable continues to defeat me, I, instead, now go for the smaller outer branches, hundreds of them, small branches that must be cut away so that the main vines can then be then exposed and properly removed.

Like sin.

I began to make progress with this beast, and realized that this time of wrestling with ugly brown branches, cutting me here and there, was truly time well spent in the Lord. The message was clear to me: take care of the little things, going for the big fix out of season is impossible, without getting things in order and being obedient when the time calls for it, as a lifestyle, and not as a crisis plan.

Now the bush is still standing, but it's proper. Will I repeat this all over again next season? Only time will tell.