Move Myrtle

I could never figure out why my crape myrtles didn’t look like that.

Every day when I took my kids to school, I would see gorgeous myrtles all over the neighborhood, heavy laden with puffy flowers in hot pink, deep purple or pure white…but my myrtles never looked that.

One friend said they needed heavy pruing in the winter. So the next season when all the leaves had fallen, I got out my lopers and chopped away. There…that should do it! Summer came; summer went. No flowers.

Now, crape myrtles are not one of those trees that still look great without flowers. In fact, I consider them downright ugly and I was tired of ugly in my front garden where they gawked at me day after day.

So, I called in a professional gardener. He informed me that crape myrtles need sunlight, so it didn’t really matter what I did to those trees; they were not going to bloom in my cool, shaded yard. My choice: put up with the lack of beautiful or pull them out. I opted for change.

Life can be a lot like my myrtles. Sometimes, we are just not blooming. We might try the recommendations of friends. You need a hobby. You need a different job. You need a man. Wait until this season is over, then make a change. Often, though, what we really need is Sonlight; no amount of pruning or changing it up is going to make the needed difference. The Professional Gardener has made the call – “Getting in the Son is the only thing that is going to bring beauty”.

Getting in the Son, like moving a tree, is no easy task and may involve pain. It involves change; often dramatic change. A change in habits, a ridding of addictions, a move in friendships, a laying down of dreams. Don’t be afraid of the change, friend. The Psalmist said that pain comes in the night, but joy comes in the morning. In the end, the blooms that follow will tell the tale of the power of life in the Son.

Lynn