My lilac bush has struggled for several years, and this weekend I noticed that it was showing no signs of life.  Sadly, I decided to pull it out of the ground and throw it away.

When I did, it popped right out of the soil with its roots barely hanging on to the dirt around them.

As I walked toward the trash can, though, I noticed that the bottom portion of my plant had tiny new leaves, so I decided to give it one more chance.

I replanted the bottom portion after pruning away all of the dead branches, and now I am going to see what happens.  With roots well grounded back into the soil, I am hoping that they will dig deep into the earth causing this little stick of promise to blossom into something beautiful.

As for the dead part of the plant, it waits for the trash man who arrives in the morning. My neighbors, Tom and Jennie, drove by as I was snapping this shot of my garbage, and of course they had to stop and ask what in the world I was doing........

I told Jennie that I just couldn't let this lilac bush leave our home without a picture because it reminded me so much of me.......needing to be pruned WAY BACK......yet hopeful that the little part left holds some sort of promise.

As summer vacation approaches and I once again struggle with where God is leading me next in my life journey, I am praying for Him to do whatever pruning is necessary in order to make me the person He longs for me to be.

God works quite well with tiny twigs, so I'm trusting Him with all my heart and soul.

If you are at a crossroads in your life, ask God to cut out of you all the things that are holding you back from being completely His and then ask Him to be the water and sunshine you need so that you can grow into the person He dreams for you to be.

Trusting Him with the pruning shears,