Diggin around

Luke 13:6-8

"Then he (Jesus) told this parable: "A man had a fig tree, planted in his vineyard, and he went to look for fruit on it, but did not find any. So he said to the man who took care of the vineyard, 'For three years now I've been coming to look for fruit on this fig tree and haven't found any. Cut it down! Why should it use up the soil?'
'Sir,' the man replied, 'leave it alone for one more year, and I'll dig around it and fertilize it."

My (Shelley's) story started out exactly one year ago in Changes that Heal. I was a barren fig tree, but I decided to jump in and dig around and get fertilized...

Last year, I had no friends outside of my family and Dave, I was lonely and hurting. My mom had just passed away, and I was confused why I was still hurting so bad if I had God, why wasn't life better? Why did I cry at the drop of a hat? Why wasn't there an instant fix? This passage really spoke to me. God told me through CtheJ and this passage "Shelley, this is gonna take some hard work, some sh*t (fertilizer), and a whole year, its a long time and process, but lean on me, and watch it happen." I decided to trust in Him, and I dug in. It wasn't easy. But I kept coming back to CtheJ, reading the Bible, and tried to open myself up to some wonderful people. I journaled, I read like crazy.
I would have to say however, the most change came when I made myself vulnerable. When I said "God, I cannot do this, help me" and when I told the group "I need help, I don't know what, but I am gonna ask for it." God of course was awesome and I felt his Grace right away. Also, people were awesome, and came up to me to offer help.
Slowly but surely, I am finally making friends, and look at me, I am bearing fruit! Its slow, but sure. When I look back over the year, it went by a whole lot faster than I thought, praise God! Yes, it was hard work, yes, there was a lot of sh*t,but I made it!
I don't share this story to boast to you all, but to be an encouragement. I want to invite you to meditate on this passage, ask God and ask yourself if you are ready to bear some fruit. Give it a try, and don't be afraid to reach out to others for support.

I wrote this in a newsletter to my group, but thought I would like to share it all with you. I encourage you to read Changes That Heal by Dr Henry Cloud.