Change

Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow…

Matthew 6 v 28

This beautiful clematis has been in my garden for many years. My Dad gave her to me. He told me how to look after her as he knew her well. She likes full sun on her leaves, but cool roots, so put her in the centre of the garden, but cover her soil with some smooth stones to shade her feet. She likes to climb all summer, and rest in winter, so water and feed well in summer; prune back and let her rest in winter.

I followed his instructions. It took a while to get it right as she is particular and likes thing how she likes them. She will only grow in certain places and loves lots of water. I was not sure of pruning her in Autumn, but have found she actually likes it very much. She rewards me with a dazzling look twice a year: first in May in pink, then in August in white.

The end of this summer I was away for a week. It was very hot for the end of August and she dried out. When I returned she was not looking good, dried brown leaves; I thought I had lost her. I wondered what to do and decided that, despite her sensitivities, I needed to introduce her to some changes. I cut away all the dead branches, right to her soil. When I did so I could see the soil was tired and empty, so, I lifted her out of her worn out pot and soil and planted her in a bigger pot with delicious, nutritious new soil. I watered and fed her well. I moved her to a west facing fence to soak up some late evening light. I even introduced her to a new friend – a lovely anemone that blooms full pink in autumn.

In my heart I thought she would not live. Slight hope was that she would survive winter and perhaps pull through for one last summer. I carried on with my life and hoped for the best, expected the worst.

Then one morning, I looked out, and there she was – just like in my picture. Dazzling in her pink and white stripe. Two colours at once!! Not one flower, but many, many flowers, and buds. Her anemone friend was weaving through her lower branches, she was budding and blossoming … in October and still now in November! So late in the year!

I often ask God to talk to me, to inspire me with His wisdom. He always does, if I slow myself to listen to Him. Often I find the answers I am seeking are right in front of me. I think of Jesus’ instructions to ‘consider the lilies of the field, how they grow‘. He is telling me that the world around me can teach me so much if I will just slow myself down enough to look and consider. Or as another way of saying it is ‘observe with attention’.

So I observed with attention this clematis. I considered and reflected on what I could learn from her and how she grows. I started thinking about change. How often I resist change. I like things the way they are. It’s comfortable. It suits me. Why upset everything with a new way of doing things? Why did they put in a new roundabout so now I have to go to work a different way? Why do I need a new debit card when the old worn one is fine? Where did that lovely coffee shop go? Why is they job no longer what I hoped it to be? It is just all so emotional and complicated. The change is sapping my energy. Why can’t it all stay the same?

The clematis had resisted change. She insisted on being in a certain ‘spot’. Her choice was good. She bloomed twice a year. But actually, the new ‘spot’ is even better. She is not just just surviving, she is thriving! Stripes and buds and late blooms and a friend. She and I didn’t know this, but now we do. Change may not be easy, but without it, there would be no moving from the past to new possibilities. My husband often says ‘God can see around the corner’. Not sure how theological correct that is, but he is right. I have often resisted change as I can become content with dry ground, dying leaves, lack of nourishment. I don’t want to peer around a corner. Let’s just stay same as it ever was.

But thankfully the Lover of my Soul wants so much more for me. He nudges and pushes, He moves and tends, He moves things around, and … often He doesn’t even ask me! The new roundabout, the new job, the new coffee shop even the shiny new debit card… they are actually doing me good. I needed to go through the ‘change barrier’. It wasn’t easy, but it has turned out better. And just like the clematis, I am not just surviving, I am living and thriving. Life. Abundance. Flourishing.