Luab: The sprouting of new leaves

WHEN a tree is cut down, new shoots appear appears. So maybe that is how we should look at the happenings in our lives. We need to be as strong and as resilient as the trees.

All of us have experienced setbacks. People who have gone into business know what I’m talking about. The first few years in business are really nerve-wracking.

The business can flounder again and again. Unexpected happenings occur. If a person is in the auto repair business, dishonest mechanics, tool losses and back jobs can occur. If a person goes into ice distribution, the supply of ice does not arrive on time or the supply is not enough.

Sometimes, once the source knows your routes they stop the supply and take over the routes. If someone is are in the soft drinks distribution business, your delivery truck can bog down, the salesmen can run away with the money, or the retail outlets do not pay. If you try out new products, the merchandisers or a house-to-house selling team can also ran away with the money. When you come up with a product that can be sold in the malls, because your product is new, it does not move right away.

Your capital to buy raw products is used up, and the capital of your business cannot be turned around.

I could go on and on with more examples, but we know that from these setbacks people learn and grow and then they succeed.

Even in our love life, some people do not live happily ever after. Not every Cinderella finds her dream prince. But broken hearts mend. It’s only the faint of heart who gives up on love. Only recently a friend complained to me that the person whom she thought cared for her did not send her a gift on Valentine’s Day, did not call nor did he text her!

She asked me what it meant. I turned over the same question to her and asked: “What do you think it did it mean?” Her answer was:

“I’m not high on his list of loved ones!” My next question was: “What are you going to do about it?” Her answer was: “Confront him!” Very softly I said, “You will only be more hurt! You will eventually meet someone who will love you the way you want to be loved.

Take heart, you are not the only person who was by-passed this Valentine’s Day.”

Maybe this sharing could help a lot of our young girls who believe everything men say. Unless he really tells you that you are the woman he intends to marry, then you are safe. When he comes to visit you often, and he is not ashamed to be seen with you in public, and he calls you as often as he can, then perhaps you have a chance that the sweet nothings he is telling you are true. Otherwise, accept the fact that you are not special to him at all.

But it is not the end of the world to be heartbroken. There will be other
Valentine Days to come.

So many people who have diplomas to prove that they are now skilled in the career they chose are not actually working in the field of their chosen career. Why? They suffered setbacks too. But like the sturdy tree that was cut down, they sprouted new leaves and have excelled in other ways of making a living.

One of my closest relatives took up physical therapy. After college, she did practice her profession. After a time, she discovered that it was not so fulfilling after all. Deciding to venture into business, she became a very successful business woman. She still acknowledges that what she went through during her stint as a physical therapist made her also grow.

Why am I talking about setbacks during this season of Lent? Maybe it’s because of the theme that goes through the whole Lenten Season. We are told to pray, to reflect and to repent. In short we should reconcile with God. We should try to get closer to God.

So when we sin, the branches of our tree go dead. When we repent, we hack off those dead branches and once we get reconciled with God, we sprout new leaves, we bloom and we get to be a more beautiful and a better person. Lent is really the time to hack off those dead branches.