Prune

Prune

He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more.

“SEE THAT SUCKER growing between the stem and the branch—you have to pinch that off.” Dad snapped off the sucker, despite the three small tomatoes already growing on it.

“But, wait . . .” I began as Dad pinched off another one, this one with flowers.

“Dad!”

Pausing from his search for suckers among my beloved but admittedly unruly Brandywine tomatoes, Dad winked. “We prune the suckers so the plants stay healthy and you get earlier, larger tomatoes. Pruning forces the plants to focus on fruit production rather than growing foliage.”

“I know. But I hate pruning the suckers that are already growing fruit.” I sighed as I bent alongside him, helping search through my plants, pinching off suckers. “I guess we’re pruning the good in order to get the best.”

“Exactly, Tootsie. Now, get back to work.”

I’ll admit that pruning isn’t my favorite garden task, especially when I’m cutting off lilac branches I know already have next year’s buds or pinching the suckers off my tomatoes, but I’ve learned that the temporary disappointment in losing buds or potential tomatoes is far outweighed by the benefits both in the health of my plants and the ultimate harvest I collect.

God is the Master Gardener, and he prunes us and our lives for the same reasons Dad taught me to prune my tomatoes—health and harvest. Sometimes we’ve got unhealthy things festering that, if left to grow, will seriously stunt our spiritual growth. And other times, we have so many good things vying for our attention that if God didn’t remove some of them, we’d never focus on the best things, the things that bring the biggest harvest to the Kingdom of God.

The question is whether we will trust him in the pruning, even when it hurts in the moment, or if we’ll protest loudly, refusing to give up the things that are holding us back. God is trustworthy and good, and he can be trusted to see a far bigger picture than we ever will this side of heaven.

Lord, prune us. Remove the things holding us back from your best. Amen.

-Julie

One Good Step: What is God asking you to release? Make a plan, and tell a friend who will gently hold you accountable.