A scraggly tree used to grow back in the garden corner. Half of its growth was rotten. Its shade blocked the garden from sunshine. So, two winters ago hubby chopped the tree down.
But … just because you chop a tree down, that does not necessarily mean the tree is dead.
Certain trees store up plant energy in their roots … and proceed to draw from that “root bank” to send out new shoots and sprouts … year after year!
Last summer, with the tree having just been chopped down, the stump did not give us any problems. No new shoots and sprouts sprang up.
However, hubby and I suspected the tree would try to spring back to life again. So, this past winter hubby drilled holes all across the top of the stump and generously sprinkled on Epsom Salt to help kill the stump.
With the arrival of Spring this year, the stump sprang to life! Hundreds of new leafy green shoots and sprouts springing up everywhere!
Rather than battle continuously with trying to prune off every new shoot and sprout which springs up this summer, I decided to suffocate the stump. It seems logical that if the stump/shoots are blocked from rain, sunshine, and fresh air, surely that will keep the stump/sprouts from growing into a new tree.
Now, whenever I see the stump covered over with the impervious plastic-y weed-block fabric – suffocating what is trying to come back to life from what’s been chopped down – I can’t help but think this is what it is like trying to keep hurt & pain from springing back to life, from deep woundings in our past.
We all have experienced deep woundings in life. Things which have “chopped down” parts of who we are, which were alive and growing.
Deep woundings of the heart are incredibly painful!
We know forgiveness is the key to our healing.
So, we forgive.
We “let it go.”
We move on with life.
And just like last summer, the stump seemed to be done. It’s over. We can move on with life.
But seasons change. And suddenly, in a new and different season, what we thought was “done” and “in the past” suddenly “springs back to life.”
We didn’t mean for it to “spring back to life.”
It just happened.
We were going about our normal everyday business … and there the hurt and the pain are springing up all over the place! The wounding feels so fresh and real all over again! The pain all comes rushing back!
But we forgave!
We “let it go”!
We “moved on”!
We didn’t hold on to past hurts. And yet … here is the hurt, springing up in hundreds of sprouts of new growth!
Love covers over offenses.
We don’t want all that hurt to spring up into bitterness which will make our life half-rotten. We don’t want all that pain to spring up into depression & resentment which will block the sunshine of God’s love from shining through us.
So … just like the stump in our back garden corner is being suffocated … in the same way we must “suffocate” the shoots and sprouts of wounding, which spring up in our life.
We must “cover it over” with love.
We must “cover it over” with grace.
God has covered over our mistakes and our failings with his love.
God has covered over everything we have done wrong with his grace.
And so … we ask God to help us “cover over” the offenses in the same way. We ask God to please give us his love to help us “cover over” all those shoots and sprouts of hurt & pain which are springing up everywhere in our life!
We ask God to please give us his grace to help us “cover over” all that growth, to “suffocate out” the bitterness, hatred, disgust, etc. which is trying to grow in our life.
Love covers over offenses.
But it is not our love. It is God’s love.
It is God’s love flowing into our life, by the power of the Holy Spirit.
And as the shoots and sprouts of hurt & pain are “covered over” and “suffocated out” .. all around the covered-over stump, beauty is blooming! Masses of candy-flower are blooming!
Nearby, lilacs are blooming! Their delicate scent perfuming the air.
As love “covers over” offenses, we can see beauty all around in other parts of our life! We can thank God for His blessing and his grace in this area here! And we can thank God for his blessing and grace in our life over there!
Our life is fruitful for Jesus! Our life is blooming and perfuming the air with the love of Jesus!
Don’t let deep woundings of the past sprout up and grow. “Suffocate” those shoots and sprouts. Anchor the covering of grace with the rock of Jesus Christ. Anchor it down with the steadfast love of Jesus for you! Anchor it down with the never-ending faithfulness of Jesus for you!
Jesus is for you! Jesus is with you! Jesus will never forsake you!
Anchor that covering of grace down with the rock of Jesus!
And let your life continue to bloom!
Love covers over offenses.
