This past week there was a complete burst of vibrant colour as every stalk of the iris came to life. I had noticed it coming up this year for the first time, and I was delighted. I never expected this level of revival though.
And as I look around my garden, I see quite a few plants that were dead and are now coming to life.
This year I joined a prophetic training school with Samuel's Mantle, and we are learning about how God speaks through symbols, dreams, visions and more. It's been an amazing experience to learn more about prophecy in my life. I was already exploring my voice, and this has given me far more grounding and helped me step in greater confidence.
One of the revelations this past few months was around seasons we are in throughout our lives, and the passage from John 15 came up again. When I say "again", I mean that I have heard this over and over and over, and never heard it like this before. But three weeks ago, I had the revelation that things I thought were dead (like this iris plant) were actually just pruned.
Mic drop.
That means that my failed missions calling maybe wasn't failed after all. Maybe it was just pruned. I walked away, assuming it was dead and left it behind with nothing but a broken heart, disappointment and anger to show for it.
I'm not sure that I can consider my husband's mental health and death to be pruning, but I can certainly see that I considered everything dead with him - not just him.
Nine years later, it's time to pick up a number of things I left for dead that were just pruned back. I have to admit I don't even know what they all are! Several months ago, I was dreaming about my time in Australia (which is where I met my husband in the 90s), and then I recently started reconnecting with a church I attended in the 90s when I lived in England. I had to leave that church when I went into missions because they didn't support me in my calling. It was a tough time.
But God is wanting me to pick up loose ends, dropped threads and abandoned dreams. There are some that I don't even want to think about, and He'll work me up to them.
I have to confess, this season of COVID lockdown, where all we do is stay at home and hardly have any human contact, I have experienced a complete revival and renewal of my spirit. I am thankful for it. I have sprung to life in a new way, and continued to allow Holy Spirit to have His way in my heart.
Pruning is a good and necessary part of gardening. If plants are left to grow without training, cleaning and pruning, they become leggy and ungainly. The stalks become long, and leaves only grow on the ends. They may not bear fruit or carry any blooms after a while. Pruning is tough, and can be devastating. But it is worth it when the plants recover.
My iris is a beautiful object lesson of how God works with us. I'm loving the flower bearing season, but also grateful for what it tells me. There is still hope. Old dreams can be revived. He hasn't taken it all away. There is still more to come.
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