I asked my landscaper to drop by the other week so I could talk with him about my backyard. I had a flower bed put in along with some mountain cedars, crepe myrtles, boxwoods and a plethora of flowers eight years ago.

Sometime after that, I planted some blackberries and they became absolute monsters of growth. I have been battling them for the past two years. My garden became overgrown with lots of adventitious plants during the past few years.

I needed my landscaper, Richard, to clean it up. As any good professional would do, he also looked at my front yard. That is when he told me my Indian Hawthorn bushes would die this year. The leaves were peppered with holes and the bushes looked as if he might be right.

I was dismayed. My Indian Hawthornes take up quite a large space in my front yard and they are a nice balance to my beautiful pink Hydrangeas.

Then I got a bit perturbed. I was reading the Bible and I happened to be reading Psalm 1. In this beautiful Psalm, it says that if I abide by the word of God my leaves would not wither. Yet it was apparent that my leaves were withering.

So I got to praying. I reminded God of the recent breakup with my boyfriend. I reminded Him that I had broken up with him because he wanted me to disrespect the marriage covenant. I reminded Him that I had done quite a bit this year to honor His calling on my life to become a Christian writer. I kept reminding Him of things which I thought He may have possibly forgotten. Then I pointed out to Him that His Word said my leaf wouldn’t wither and well… my leaves were withering.

Richard suggested I buy more Hydrangeas to plant where the bushes were. Those Hydrangeas are very expensive. I really wanted to buy them and some other plants before he pulled the bushes out but didn’t have the time.

He came by the other day to work on my backyard. I dreaded coming home to see my front yard devoid of my bushes. As I drove into the driveway I was surprised. The Indian Hawthorn bushes were still there.

I asked him why he didn’t pull them out. He said, “Plants do one of two things when they get a disease. They either seed out and die or start new growth. Your Indian Hawthorn bushes were flowering and had new growth on them. You must have prayed.”

I told him, “That is exactly what I did.”

As I reflected on this story I realized that sin is like a disease which can strip us of new growth. When we continue in sin we seed out death. If we cling to the Word of God and abide by his Word our life can sprout new growth and we can become a blessing unto others. If we claim Jesus as our Savior we can not only become a blessing to others but we can also live in the eternal presence of God.

Happy Easter Everyone! I hope and pray your leaves never wither.