It's that time of year!!
When I was in college, one NT professor had us memorize massive passages of scripture. Until then, I had only learned a verse here and a verse there. I had no idea I was even capable of memorizing whole chapters! (Thank you, Dr. Root.) One of the passages that lives in my heart and that comes up at least once a year--way more often than that, usually--is John 15. It starts off like this, Jesus is talking to his disciples, probably at his last meal with them before his death, or perhaps on the way to the olive grove, where he would be arrested:
"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 trims clean so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.
As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love. If you obey my commands, you will remain in my love, just as I have obeyed my Father's commands and remain in his love. I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete. My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master's business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything I have learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you to go and bear fruit--fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. This is my command: Love each other. "
Pruning is an art form. We prune for many reasons, with different results. Roses seem to thrive on pruning. We cut them back all summer and they just grow and bloom more and more. Then in the winter, we cut away the dead wood so the new growth has room to grow. I prune my arborvitae hedge so that is will remain fairly low, so that I can see traffic over it, and traffic can see me. I prune the fruit trees I just planted to encourage root growth, and for the next few years I will not let them put their energy into producing fruit at all, but will pluck the fruit while it is small so that the trees will put their energy into growing strong roots and a strong trunk.
This has been a year of much growth for me and I feel like I am in a dormant, rather numb state right now, with changes in our business and the loss of my grandma and brother. But the truth is, I'm ready for God to prune away. Pruning the dead wood does not hurt. it changes what I look like, I may have to give up things I'm used to--and heaven knows I don't like change!--but it's all for the best. The dead wood will be in the way of the new growth. I need to surrender to the Gardener.
Some of the pruning God is doing in me is to make me more suited to His plans. I had neglected to prune my arborvitae hedge for many years, and did a severe pruning this year, taking it from 10 or 12 feet down to about 6. It is all level and neat-looking now and I asked Mr. K what he thought. "I liked it better the old way." We do get used to ourselves and it's hard for us to accept change in ourselves, especially when we cannot see the purpose. I'm sure my hedge was thinking "Up, up, up I grow. Oh how lovely and tall I am!" But my desire is that if a horse escapes and runs down the driveway, any traffic coming might have 50 feet to see it, rather than 6. I may like growing tall and wild; but God may have another purpose for me. I need to yield to the Gardener.
Some of the growing I did this year was hard and the kind that is meant to last. Some of the pruning God is doing in me is to keep me from fruiting in certain areas so that my trunk may grow strong and my root system may flourish, so that in the future I will be able to support and sustain a rich harvest. Did you notice how all the apple trees this years seemed to be overladen? If my limbs grow too fast, when the time comes to fruit bountifully, my limbs may be too weak and break. I need to accept the Gardener's de-fruiting, even though it seems contrary to my purpose in life. I need to trust the Gardener.
Some of the pruning He does to make me more productive. Sometimes he picks roses for a bouquet for His delight, or dead-heads the previous blooms to encourage me to flower more. I need to take joy in the Gardener's pruning, as He takes joy in me.
Whatever the Gardener chooses to do in me, I need to yield and surrender to it willingly, joyfully and trustingly. I am in His garden, planted for His purposes, and for His delight. I want to live in His garden forever. So I will accept this season of rest and pruning; knowing that Spring is just around the corner, and I will be all the more useful and productive in the long run for the pruning I have embraced this winter.
(photo by Hannah Mills)
