The Gardener

The Master’s shears are pruning each day

More and more they cut and tear down

Everything that bloomed for You.

I say goodbye to precious flowers and fruits

That once grew in Your light

And my bare branches creak and groan in the new cold.

“Was I not good enough, my fruit not sweet for You?”

Yet it seems my deep ache goes left unheard

To disappear into the harsh winds of this barren season.

Days, months, I am left to stretch and crack in pain

The rich soil I was planted in turned to dry dust long ago.

And each day as I cry out in despair at the looming shadow I cast,

Looking always to the West and the dimming light,

I do not realise that You always come here to meet me

From the moment the sun rises, where I am not looking

For You cannot be where shadows and darkness are.

So while I continue to weep at what is lost,

You continue to garden.

Patiently, Your pierced hands nurture and guide

Mercifully, Your scarred shoulders lift and carry

Kindly, Your perfect Word corrects and encourages

Warmly, Your open Heart shares its light and love

All without expecting any in return.

And as You rest in the sparse shade of what is left of me each afternoon

I feel You water my soul with Your tears and whisper,

“My love, you are not ruined. I am not finished.

For I make everything beautiful in its time.”

#honestlyimperfect #JesusisKing #TheGardener #poem