Isn't pruning just your favorite Biblical topic? Right next to submission and death to self, for sure. I've been thinking about pruning after a great conversation about it recently, and today I set out in the sunshine to finish up some winter pruning on the fruit trees. I waited WAY too long to prune my fruit trees because it kinda scared me, but after seeing the explosive growth that happens as a result, I am much more willing to chop and trim and collect a pile of twigs for future burn piles.
Three aspects of pruning registered in my heart while clipping:
Prune off branches that will grow into each other. One of the purposes of pruning is to keep branches from tangling with each other. I was taught to clip off little growths that WILL run into another branch, even if it will take a long time for the intersection to happen. It is so, so much easier to snip a little twig than a 2" branch. Don't wait until the two areas of growth have tangled- look at the direction each one is growing and, if in it's fullness it will tangle with another, clip.
Where will areas of life soon intersect with each other and tangle? Doesn't a clip while it's small sound more peaceful than tangled growth that's hard to separate from? Worth some prayer on it.
Prune off branches that won't ever bear fruit. Sometimes little suckers grow up around the bottom of the tree, and they can be quite relentless! This type of growth just sucks nutrients from the base of the tree, and won't ever grow into a fruit-bearing portion. These are the most obvious cut to me, because of the lack of fruit, and because they look so messy!
What in life do we know will never create something beneficial? What clutters and uses energy, and isn't worth the mess? Worth some prayer.
Prune growth that isn't sustainable. I find this the hardest kind to cut. A growing tree is so fulfilling- I love to see how BIG my little starts are getting. I love to think of full, large branches, and the shade they bring. I let this happen to my apple tree, though, and I regret it. I let the branches grow too far outward, and let too many little apple blossoms grow. The weight of all that fruit leaning too far out from the trunk has caused the tree to split down the middle. The fruit literally ripped the tree in half because the structure of the branches couldn't handle the weight. The tree hasn't died, but it is severely smaller, branches need to be tied in place, and it looks rather awkward too!
It's so easy to see all growth and all fruit as good. But unsustainable grow can rip us in half.
Where does the Lord want to shape the structure of US - as individual people, as family units, and as a woven body- so that we can handle the weight of the fruit in the next season? What can we let go of now, so that we can be full and healthy for the long haul?
It's amazing to see God's goodness in this. He prunes so we don't get tangled, so we make the most of our resources, and so that we are strong enough for what He gives. That sounds worth every trim to me!
*Scripture on pruning can be found in John 15.
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