PRUNING

Sunday I came home from a wedding and drove up to my house and said, “That’s all I can stanz and I can’t stanz no more, I’m pruning the ice plant.” So instead of napping (which is what I really wanted to do), I braved the heat with my cutting shears and headed for the front yard.

An hour or so later, I ended up with what is below. It has become about a 3x a year ritual to keep the iceplant from overtaking my rocks.

All of that green stuff pictured on the right was covering about half of the rocks you now see on the left! Pruning is a necessary part of a healthy garden. It’s also a necessary part of a healthy spiritual life. Which brings me to why I chose to snap this pic. As I was gardening, I felt like God said some bad news and some good news to me.

Bad news: while pruning is hard work and often painful, I think that’s what God has in store for me in the coming months. We have some pruning to do.

Good news: pruning from God always leads to a harvest in the future.

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 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 15:1-2