Word: Growing

Crab Apple Blossoms: May 11-17

Sarah Lundgren

Growing Bonsai

Ellen Jensen

An excerpt, from Growing: The Bonsai Way

…….It is hard to see spiritual growth, too. I have been staring at the same plot of dirt in my spiritual garden for a few years now, and it appears that nothing special is happening. My scripture reading feels dull, my prayers are feeble, my service for others lacks passion or sense of accomplishment. There are no deep-rooted sins, or weeds, that I can think of confessing. Small ones aplenty, true, but they are yanked up fairly quickly. It seems all the usual spiritual disciplines I have relied on were failing me. It is hard to have faith when all you see is dirt.

I visited a friend of mine last spring who owns a cherry orchard in rural Wisconsin. She also is a dedicated Bonsai artist. Bonsai is a way of grafting and training dwarf trees as artistic expression. It requires considerable study, resolute patience, and meticulous attention to pruning and soil health. It is the supreme martial art of husbandry. She considers it a zen, centering sort of hobby that is both calming and demanding. I can’t quite embrace that tension of opposites. But the moment I see her beautiful trees it doesn’t matter. I am completely enchanted by them. She has seven of them right now, all uniquely shaped and textured, each seeming to have a noble presence of its own. One tree, however, did not appear to be doing very well. “Oh, it’s not dying,” she assured me. Part of it was tightly wrapped in wire that was splitting the main branch and pushing one half of the growth in the opposite direction. “I have big plans for this one”. She showed me a picture from an issue of Bonsai Master. “What I am accomplishing is similar to what applying orthodontic braces does. I am forcing growth in the direction I desire. Later on, I will keep it in the dark for awhile so it slows the growth. Over the next few years, the wire will be repositioned and eventually removed…. and hopefully I will end up with something that looks like…THIS!” She beamed and flipped the page. “It can come out of the darkness looking awesome.”

Driving home with a trunkful of Cherry DeLights, I kept the Bonsai factoids in mind on a gentle simmer. The weekend visit was heartening to my discouraged spirits. I thought about that bound up, pathetic looking tree. Poor thing. It doesn’t know its wonderful destiny. The realization crept over me like an evening shadow: and neither do I.

He who began a good work in me will finish what He started. That is a certain promise.

Can I trust my Divine Gardener and His hidden methods? I will some day be truly reflecting His image in a way unique to me. While I do my soul’s daily gardening, however imperfectly, I need not worry if I don’t see anything sprouting up just yet. God is tending my garden with fierce patience and keen, devoted attention. Just like the Bonsai Master, He is watering and pruning His tree in perfect time and purpose. We’ll see what a living work of art I become…. Maybe a cherry tree…a lilac bush, …or a bougainvillea.. —my favorite!