Alice Inspires Me to Prune...

I've met a very lovely lady in the mountains of North Carolina, my relatively new home, who grows the most beautiful roses I've ever seen.  (The roses you see are from her rose garden.)  Her name is Alice.  She is 80 years old and has always lived in the house where she was born.  She and her husband of sixty years have raised five children of their own there.  She is a petite, very pretty lady of average height and wears her beautiful white hair about shoulder length.  She always looks impeccably groomed and stylish.  She is amazingly active and  sharp as a tack mentally.   I've told her that I want to be just like her when I grow up!  In admiration of her and her roses, she has inspired me to tackle the old and unkempt rose bushes at the side of my cottage. 

In all my enthusiasm to begin creating beautiful roses just like Alice, I purchased a very large book on roses.  It is chock full of information on every rose created from original species roses to recent hybrid teas and grandilofras, from bushes and shrubs to ramblers and climbers, and from tree roses to miniatures. I had no idea there were so many types of roses! 

It took me a while, actually, to understand exactly what kind of roses I have.  More than once, I thought there must be a rose book for dummies!  However, after much debate, I think (not certain) I have rambling roses and oh, what a mess they were in!  As I began chopping, cutting and pruning, I felt pretty certain I had bitten off more than I could chew.  It also didn't take me long to realize, just brilliant on my part too, that  I needed long sleeves opposed to my bathing suit top!  Hey, I was hoping to get a nice tan while tackling this project. 

As I finally got into the rhythm of pruning, I continually thought, "These poor rose bushes!"  Their roots and canes had not seen the light of the sun in who knows how long.  Their stems were horribly overgrown and entangled.  No wonder they were no longer producing beautiful roses.   There were many dead canes that weren't  capable of producing roses at all.  Their soil was certainly depleted of any nourishment.

Later that evening after reading another chapter on rambling roses in my rose book, I began reflecting on my pruning job earlier and how great it felt to clear all that entangled mess.  It then dawned on me that metaphorically, many of our habitual and frequent negative thoughts and beliefs about ourselves cause  entangled messes as had my rose bushes.  We become so confused and conflicted in our minds that we no longer produce beautiful words or deeds. The darkness created by our thoughts allows very little room for the Light of God to permeate our hearts. 

It's springtime--time for new beginnings!  Are you in need of pruning old beliefs or negative thoughts that produce no beauty?  Have you forgotten the very roots from which you blossom?  In Truth, you are a beautiful creation of the Creator of All.  God-like qualities reside in you!  You are an unique expression of the Divine!   Only your negative thoughts make it seem not so!  Prune the negative thoughts and beliefs that create feelings of separation and lifelessness.  Allow the Light of God to permeate your heart, correcting your own thought system, and producing new growth!  It will feel great to clear all that entangled mess!

I'm feeling confident my rose bushes are going to produce beautiful roses in just a few weeks.  When they do, I will invite Alice over to showcase her inspiration!   My mental pruning after my rose bushes experience has brought me new fruits or feelings of Joy, Love and Peace.   May the Light and Love of God beam strongly upon you! 


Video clip of Gem #7, "I AM... Love" from "TwentyGems" series...

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Copyright 2012 Denna J. Shelton