The Pruning
The day had begun like so many others. The endless routine of cooking and cleaning filled my mind with the drudgery of yet another day. Rain filled the air cool and refreshing. Nature was washing away yesterday`s sorrows. Deep within my soul longed for the same.
I had begun working on a song I hoped would become the bridge between my students and myself. Children love music, I love music, could it work?
Thinking it would fill the void within, I gave into the plea from our parish`s religious director and taught fifth grade catechism last year. Oh, how luck would have it, I became ill after a few months and bowed out graciously. Yes, I did say luck you see, for I was terrified. Terrified that the children could see I was walking blind within my own faith. How could I teach them, when I held doubts and questions of my own? Was this a call from God? How could I be so foolish to think that He would call upon me? Feeling the guilt, I vowed to teach sixth grade this year. This time I would see it through, this time…
The day pressed on and my gaze fell upon the plant given to me by a friend. I had tucked the poor neglected thing into a spare room. The lack of sun, water and love had made its beautiful green vines turn brown and brittle. There could be no hope for the life had been drained from its branches.
“It must be time”, I thought. Time to remove this reminder of my failures. As always, I embarked upon something new, to once again see it unfulfilled. “When would I learn”, I voiced to myself. “When would I learn?”
Slowly my eyes kissed goodbye each of the dead limbs. The time for mourning was long past due. You could hear the crispness of its leaves as they fell to the floor. With a regretful sigh, I reached for the plotted plant where life once bloomed. But then…. oh, how could it be? There it was a tiny green leaf. Upon closer examination, I counted four leaves in total. They were tiny, not noticeable at first. Each placed upon different vines as if to say; Not Yet! My eyes could not believe what they were seeing. A puzzled look formed in my face, and I soon became frustrated by the peril in front of me. How easy it would be to toss out something that showed no life, but now, I must decide its fate.
Before I knew it, I found myself in the bathroom determining if the ceiling would support the hook in my hand. After securing the hook, I gave a few good tugs to ensure it would support the weight of the potted plant. I hung a green crocheted plant hanger from the hook so that the plant would dangle in front of the window.
“There”, I thought. “You`ll be sure to get plenty of sun and moister in here!” I said as I rested the plant within the holder. I then reached for my shears for I couldn`t allow the plant to hang there in such poor condition. As I began pruning Grace (the plants new name) I began reasoning about life, faith and the task at hand.
What message could God be sending me? What lesson am I to learn? Many questions and their possible answers filtered into my mind.
Today, I learned that faith must be cared for like anything else. We love, we nourish, and we prune the dead parts within us, so that we may flourish. Today, I received God`s Grace.
The above article was written over 20 years ago. The watercolor painting done today 1-19-2025.
Side note- I did complete that year teaching Catechism for my parish. (volunteer) Complete with a Christmas play.