"But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." -2 Peter 3:18
Lilias Trotter wrote about the stages of heavenly growth: "The one thing is to keep obedient in spirit, then you will be ready to let the flower-time pass if He bids you, when the sun of His love has worked some more ripening. You will feel by then that to try to keep the withering blossoms would be to cramp and ruin your soul. It is loss to keep when God says 'give'."
It is in my nature to not throw anything away if I can help it. I recycle, reuse, or give it away. Only when it is of no use at all does it end up in the trash bin. I even saved the fallen sunflower I wrote about yesterday until it dried up and shriveled to the point it started to fall apart. It was now just taking up space with no intrinsic value left in it.
Lilias says "to keep the withering blossoms would be to cramp and ruin your soul." I understand what she is saying. If I hang onto things that no longer serve a useful purpose in my spiritual life I will "cramp and ruin" my spiritual growth. Keeping things in my life that serve no purpose in my growth is to lose something more precious--a closer relationship with God. Like the insect that severed the flower from the stem, sometimes God has to step in and help me sever ties with things that no longer serve His purpose because I have such a hard time letting things go.
I am grateful that God is there to help me let go so that I can grow closer to Him.
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