A young gardener was pruning his trees and shrubs. His favorite berry bush had overgrown. He feared that it would produce little, if any, fruit.  So, he pruned the bush to cut it back. When he had finished, there was little left but stumps and roots. The bush looked very sad and hurt. On every stump there seemed to be a tear where the pruning knife had cut away the growth of early spring.  The poor bush seemed to speak to him, "Oh, how could you be so cruel to me; you who claim to be my friend, who planted me and cared for me when I was young, nurtured me and encouraged me to grow? Could you not see that I was rapidly responding to your care? I was nearly half as large as the trees across the fence, and might soon have become like one of them. Now you've cut my branches back; the green, attractive leaves are gone, and I am a disgrace among my fellows."  The young gardener looked at the weeping bush. His voice was full of kindness as he said, "Do not cry ... What I have done to you was necessary that you might be a prize berry bush in my garden. You were not intended to give shade or shelter by your branches. My purpose when I planted you was that you should bear fruit. When I want berries, a tree, regardless of it's size, cannot supply the need."  "No, my little berry bush ... If I had allowed you to continue to grow as you had started, all your strength would have gone to wood. Your roots would not have gained a firm hold, and the purpose for which I brought you into my garden would have been defeated. Your place would have been taken by another, for you would have been barren."  "You must not weep ... All this will be for your good. Some day, when you are richly laden with luscious fruit, you will thank me and say, Surely, he was a wise gardener. He knew the purpose of my being, and I thank him now for what I then thought was cruel."  Some years later ... This young gardener was in a foreign land. He had worked his way up, and was proud of his position and ambitions for the future. One day, an unexpected vacancy entitled him to a promotion. The goal to which he had aspired was now within his grasp.  However, for some reason unknown to him, someone else was appointed instead, and he was asked to take another post relatively unimportant and which, under the circumstances, caused his friends to ridicule him. The young man was humiliated. He staggered to his tent, dropped to his knees and wept. He now knew that he could never hope to have what he had thought so desirable.  He cried to God, "Oh, how could You be so cruel to me? You who claim to be my friend - You who brought me here, nurtured and encouraged me to grow. Could You not see that I was almost equal to the other men whom I have so long admired? Now I have been cut down. I am a disgrace among my fellows. Oh, how could You do this to me?"  Bitterness ravaged his heart, when he heard a faint echo from the past. Where had he heard those words before? They sounded familiar. Memory whispered: "I'm the gardener here." He caught his breath. Ah, the berry bush!  Memory answered, with words he himself had spoken, "Do not cry ... What I have done to you was necessary. You were not intended for what you sought to be. If I had allowed you to continue, you would have failed in the purpose for which I planted you and My plans for you would have been defeated. You must not weep ... Some day when you are richly laden with experience, you will say, He was a wise gardener. He knew the purpose of my being. I thank him now for what I first thought was cruel."  Lord, You know the purpose of my being. Let Your Will be done. Matthew 6:10  Thank You Lord, for blessing our family with the gift of Daniel. <3 a silent thot ... by lynn phua |
