What you need in order to thrive

In the cool of the dawn I breathe in the crisp air. All around me is evidence of the new season. Spring has come to the Northern Hemisphere. There are bright, tender shoots peeking around the garden, fresh and ready to grow. This is a joyous season, alive with color and scents and newness.My husband is the gardener in our family. Some weeks ago I watched as he cut back everything in our garden. With pruning shears in hand he took off all the winter dead parts. Then, carefully but decisively, he cut back deeper, parts that were still green, alive and seemingly well. He was confident that the core of the plant was well established in healthy soil. By cutting back, the resources and nutrients would be directed to new growth. Now that spring has come, I see the wisdom of this choice. From the core, fresh shoots are growing strong, flourishing where the old had stagnated.Although I am enjoying this season of spring, the blood in my veins has roots in the Southern parts of this world where autumn is rising. The tip of Africa, land of my birth, is readying herself for the winter rest to come.Seasons. Rhythms. Times. God has set them all into place. With each new day the sun rises again. It always does.A new day is ahead of me, as is a new time. A new pace. A new rhythm. I feel it coursing through me as the Spirit of God prepares me for all that is to come.I trust Him, the leader of my soul. Yet, change does not come easy for me … as I suspect it does not for you. Most of us are creatures of habit, burrowing deep into where we are, nesting and settling for what we have. But, God does not want us to settle. He wants us to thrive.Sometimes God prunes things in our life because it has run its course. Sometimes he cuts back deep, into the seemingly green areas of life, and this may hurt. Still we should trust him.  God wants our core to be deeply rooted in him, not in anything else. Ultimately, all we need to flourish and thrive is found in Him. At the appointed season, new growth comes to us and it is strong and beautiful and it bears much fruit."so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have power ..." - Ephesians 3:17