The Bonsai Tree

 

As I journey through the Discipleship Program with FMC, I keep coming back to the Bonsai... 

A few years ago, my husband went to a fundraiser for a school function. He came home with a very beautiful, very old, and very expensive bonsai tree. Not only did I get the tree, but also a free workshop on how to properly care for a bonsai. This was obviously not our ordinary house plant. I was intimidated, but excited! As I took a closer look at the bonsai, I noticed there were wires on the branches. It took me by surprise a bit. It didn't really stand out until I would get close to the tree, but still, why would something so unattractive be part of this beautiful creation? 

In the workshop I learned the ART of taking care of a bonsai. Bonsais had to be pruned, wired, and watered a certain way. I had to make sure the temperature was not too hot or too cold, and that it had the right fertilizer, humidity, and light. During pruning, I had to make sure the main branch structure wasn't crowded with unwanted shoots (ones that clutter and cover the main branch system) and to wire new shoots to go a certain way that I thought would look beautiful. I admit, this is not something for the indecisive person, which I am. I was just trying to keep it looking like it did when it first went through our front door. It was a lot of work.

Unfortunately, I regret to say that the bonsai stayed alive for only one year.  I tried to revive it after I noticed the beginning stages of death, but alas, another one bit the dust. I felt horrible. Looking back, I saw some things I could have done differently, but I was only relying on my own understanding at the time of what this plant needed. It wasn't enough. 

As I am going through the Discipleship Program, I recognize that I am that bonsai tree. I am learning that certain measures have to be made to keep me alive. Not only do I need daily care, but a good pruning and wiring to continue to persevere. Looking closer, one can clearly see that there are imperfections, yet that brokenness, when guided correctly, is actual beauty in my structure.

 Just who or what am I allowing to care and prune me? 

A great question to revisit again and again. 

Scripture to meditate with: Romans 15:1-17