Don't Give Up!

Don’t Give Up

Our older son, Scott, along with two of his employees, had come over to help my husband with a large project for the yard.  Spring was approaching, and it was time to remove some dead limbs from trees and to prune the rest of the yard. 

Scott has a wonderful eye for design and installation of God’s beautiful creations of flowers, plants, and trees.  He also has a soft heart for things which others see as beyond hope.  Much of our backyard has been planted with trees and grasses which others wanted out of their yards because they thought they were beyond hope.  Scott is quick to ask for whatever others see as hopeless and to put them in an environment where they can flourish if someone will take the time and trouble to work with them.

While everyone was outside and working hard, one of our neighbors came up to ask if they would mind removing a couple of her trees.  Her husband had died recently, and she now has complete responsibility for all of the outside chores which her husband had done with enthusiasm.  As our son and his men walked over to look at the two trees in question, they all agreed that one tree did, indeed, need to come down. 

However, when they saw the second tree, they began to try to encourage her to give the tree a little longer before she opted to take it down.  Scott agreed that the tree was growing a little crooked, but he believed that, with some work and patience, he could retrain the tree.  He believed that it was young enough that, with the help of a strong stake and much work around the root, that tree could be pulled into line and tied to the stake for stability.  It may be a process, but he believes the tree is worth the effort of working with it, a little at a time, determining its natural bent, and pulling it upright until it can grow straight and tall.

I could tell that my neighbor was a little daunted by all of the effort that would need to go into this tree in order to save it; our son saw it, too, and quickly assured her that he and my husband would work with the tree to try to save it.  He asked for, and received, her permission to have a little time to retrain the tree in the way it needs to go.

As I looked at our son, this tall, young, handsome man, pleading his case to save this little tree, I was reminded of all of the years we had spent on parenting him.  Proverbs 22:6 came to my mind; "Train up a child in the way he should go:  and when he is old, he will not depart from it." 

Briefly, I thought about all of the weariness that can go with parenting, as we study that young life, asking God for direction in determining the natural bent of that child, and, then, working on a daily basis to help that child reach to the sky.  I thought about the awesome responsibility and privilege of introducing them to the Lord God as the stake and anchor for their life, of giving them the ropes of prayer, God’s Word, and living examples which keep them connected to the Lord to keep them straight and tall and to help them realize the purpose and the plan that God has for them.  The careful trimming of their lives, the necessary – and, sometimes, painful – pruning that accompanies maturation, and, yes, even the periods of dormancy when we could see no growth were all a part of never giving up on them, of seeing their potential, of seeing them as they could be and not just as they were at the moment.

Surely, if we are concerned about salvaging a small tree, a favorite rose bush, an old car, or some other reminder of the past, how much more should we refuse to give up on people, on relationships, and on God’s loving, tender, patient care in our lives as He trains us up in the way we should go.

© 2011 Gerry Sisk

(03/16/11)