I was thinking today about Jesus' thoughts on being the branches of his vine & also of pruning away what does not bear fruit. Everyone experiences things being pruned away in their lives - sometimes or maybe often in an unexpected & unwanted way.
So, what if our "losses," things pruned away, are actually non-fruit bearing & need to go? What if the pruning is actually good for us & our growth?
It's time to prune the roses again. Maybe the rose bushes don't like the pain of their branches being cut off. If rose bushes had egos, they might not like the barren look they have after pruning. They might pine away for the lush greenery & fragrant & colorful blossoms of last summer. They might not be able to see that the pruning means they will have more greenery & fragrant & colorful blossoms next summer.
What if we're kind of like that? What if we stopped mourning the pruning that happens & relax in faith to know that even more good is being prepared for us? What if we realized that even if we cannot see the next summer of our lives right now, it is made better/more fruitful because of the pruning away of the unfruitful now?
We often hold on to the status quo as if life depended on it. Yet, we want to experience more of God, more that life has to offer -- and that requires letting go of the unfruitful parts of us & of our lives. I wonder if we can celebrate the pruning more, trusting it makes way for greater good?
I am going to contemplate some of my recent pruning experience to try to understand it as unfruitfulness being cut away to make room for the fruitfulness of Spirit. The cut hurts, but the summer is coming.
Father, I am doing my best to embrace Your pruning in my life & to trust that, with the unfruitfulness gone, a way is made clear for an abundant summer. I want to live a life fruitful for you. Here I am Lord. I surrender to Your working in my life. In faith & trust, I seal this with the ancient seal of faith as I say Amen, Amen & Amen.
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