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Hidden Treasures
David and I recently cleared our front yard in preparation for our homestudy. We moved into our home 3 years ago, and many of you know that our front yard had such enormous azaleas that the house couldn’t be seen from the road. When we first moved in, I liked this. I felt safe and hidden from the world. At the time, my life and marriage was in a very dark place. I spent all my time hiding away in my heart trying to keep my sin from being seen by anyone else. So it’s really no surprise that I even wanted to hide in my own home.
I have spent the last year trying to clean out all the junk in my heart and in my life, and part of that cleaning included getting rid of some weeds. David and I spent a week cleaning our front yard. As we started trying to tackle the massive azaleas we found a big problem. Tangled throughout the bushes were hundreds of thorny vines. Because it is such a beautiful sight to see the azaleas blooming in the spring, I thought we should just trim them back to a more manageable size. But as we delved deeper into the giant plants, we discovered HUGE roots from the thorny vines. Some were several inches thick, and all were wrapped tightly around the azalea limbs. We could see no way to save them, so we had no other choice but to cut them all down.
Using a chainsaw, we leveled the beautiful flowering bushes and the thorny vines alike. At first I was quite upset, because one of the things I enjoyed most about my house was seeing the yard bursting with color during the spring, and we were destroying so much beauty. But as we worked, we made some wonderful discoveries. Hidden between two gigantic lumps of azalea was camelia tree just waiting to bloom. Now I have to tell you, camelias are my favorite flower. They remind me of my grandmother.
I was so happy to find that tree, that chopping down every azalea in my yard seemed like a worthy sacrifice. So when we found a second camelia that was literally buried under the weight of the huge giants around it. I was thrilled at the hidden treasures I found in my own front yard.
A few weeks later, David and I came home and I commented to him on how much one of the camelias was blooming. It was covered with hundreds of delicate rose-colored blossoms. I said that it just needed to be in the light was that it could bloom. As the words left my mouth, I realized the weight of them. That’s how we are. When we hide in the darkness trying to keep the world at bay, we become buried in the thorny vines of life. There may even be some things of beauty, like the azaleas, that we are trying to camouflage ourselves in. But haven’t you ever noticed that azaleas only bloom for a few weeks, and the rest of the year they are kind of ugly?
Our true beauty can never bloom until we get ourselves into the light. And we can’t get fully into the light until we clean out all the weeds in our lives. If I had just trimmed back the azaleas, the root of the vines would have still been choking the life out of those plants, and I never would have found my exquisite camelias that bring such joy to my heart. It took a lot of work to clear our front yard, and when we were done we felt exhausted and worn out. But now when I look out of my kitchen window and see those beautiful blooms, I know that it was worth it. And I smile when I think how God is helping me to clean out all the junk and weeds in my mind and heart. Even though it hurts, and at times it feels like I can’t take any more, I know that the end result will be so much more glorious than anything I could ever imagine.
Posted by admin on March 20th, 2008 under Life with Beth
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