When I moved into this new home, I started planting. It was something that I never had any interest in before – but seemed like a good idea in my new life.
My dad brought over two Rose plants. They both looked like some sticks with thorns – nothing else. A few months later, one plant grew and produced lots of leaves and started producing roses, the other did not. My mom (who has a greener thumb) even tried taking it and replanting it – to no avail. There was no life in it.
Fast forward three years. My pink rose bush produced lots of beautiful roses earlier on in the season. Then, the leaves started having lots of holes in them, and all the roses are gone – with no new buds. I asked my gardener what was wrong with it. He took one look at surmised the issue… It needed pruning. Who knew?
I shared with you that I was a first time planter. I never thought of cutting off the now dead branches, but as a seasoned gardener, he did. I asked him to trim it for me and moved on to my next activity. Within two weeks, my rose bush is starting to look life it has life again, there are pretty, new leaves sprouting.
The thought occurred to me. Our Father is a seasoned gardener. He knows that pruning is necessary for our growth. He even goes as far as to tell us in Hebrews 12:11
‘No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.’
“He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.”
John 15:2 NIV
Are you in the uncomfortable phase of being pruned? I promise I know it is no fun, but the reward will be immeasurable when the Master Gardener has done His work.
Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for the lessons through nature. Thank you for loving us enough to take the time to prune us and to cut off the parts of us that will bear no fruit and will cause the rest of us to decline. Help us to go through the pruning process gracefully, knowing that in the end, we will bear the fruit that we have been called to bear.