Old and New

Lavender grows abundantly in manicured fields in the sunny Central Coast region of California. Many homes and shops in the area have incorporated the fragrant lavender plant into their landscape designs. No doubt there are at least as many happy bees as human beings attending their annual homegrown lavender festival—perhaps even more.

I’ve tried several times myself to grow french lavender and other varieties here where I live but to no avail . . . until now. You see, I started small this time. This variety was not gallon sized but pint sized and is not in the ground yet, where I hope and pray it will eventually establish and go wild. But so far so good. It’s enjoying the full sun and after giving it a boost of nutrients it’s continued to produce new growth for a couple months.

The interesting thing is that the new growth, which is coming on strong at the moment, doesn’t resemble the pre-existing leaf structure the plant had when first purchased. It’s a curious thing.

• • • •

The new growth we experience as human beings doesn’t always look like what we’ve known before. It’s a little strange but that’s okay. We might get hung up on what it supposed to look like but, it is NEW growth after all, not same growth. Different nutrients have entered our system now and have begun to penetrate our cell structures. New and unfamiliar shapes begin to appear and we must be careful not to prune back the new growth solely because it does not resemble the former growth. Give it time. Keep providing the proper conditions that growth requires. Don’t put old demands on the new thing that is happening in your life, and in your spirit.

Can you handle that? It’s time.

“Behold, I’m doing a NEW thing . . .” Isaiah 43:19