the pain of pruning
When my husband and I moved into our home 6 years ago, we inherited a full, robust loquat tree in our front yard. We knew very little about gardening so we never touched the tree until a few months ago when our neighbors asked us to trim it back.
I watched in horror as the tree trimmers cut off branch upon branch, until the tree looked as puny and pathetic as a tree could look. When we asked the tree trimmers about it, they reassured us that this is what had to be done since so many years had passed without pruning, and that the tree would look full and healthy in due time as long as we pruned it back regularly.
As I’ve been meditating on this verse, I see so many parallels to the pruning process that God does in our lives. To my inexperienced eye, I thought the tree looked healthy and impressive without any pruning - there were tons of leaves and branches and plenty of small fruits. I thought the tree trimmers were making a mistake.
And sometimes our un-pruned lives can look outwardly impressive - we can look busy, full of activity and accolades that take up space and makes us feel important, but these lesser things steal energy and life from what truly matters, the fruit that God desires and knows is good for us.
Sometimes I can look at God and wonder why He would cut off things that I felt I needed in order to be ok. It feels so painful, embarrassing, even.
But God is the Master Gardener. He doesn’t prune us to punish us, but because He loves us and knows exactly what we need (and don’t need) in order to be healthy, thriving, focused, and fruitful. He is for our flourishing. And this temporary weakness He allows is for an ultimate glory and beauty, for fruit that will bless many.
If you’re in a season of being pruned, of loss, of not having the things you feel you need - I want to encourage you and remind you today, that the Gardener is good. And He desires your eternal good. He is wise. He sees who you are becoming. He knows what you need to truly be flourishing, and his pruning is purposeful. And I think peace comes when we stop fighting Him, and learn to surrender to Him in trust.
