Lesson from Nature

Today was pruning day.  Namely, we have a couple of ornamental cherry trees that I pruned today...really, pruning isn't an accurate term; more like "chop-job."  I decimated the trees today, cutting off about 80% of the branches.  Funny thing is, but about May/June, the two trees will be blossoming like always.  You see, the pruning "stimulates growth."  The act of pruning a tree, a rose bush, a shrub, a rhodendrun...the very act of pruning actually helps to cause the growth.  If you never pruned, the branches (and thus, the entire tree) would begin to look dead.  By pruning regularly, you stimluate the growth that helps the tree look its best.

You know where I'm going with this...

"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."

Sometimes God has to prune us.  That pruning is usually painful...but yet, the pruning is also necessary for our growth, and to help us be who He created us to be.  Pruning is necessary and can take many forms.  Sometimes God might cause a trial or "pruning season;" other times He might simply take a situation and use it to prune us.

The point?  I read this short little passage today, right in the middle of 2 Corinthians, which helped me in light of these times of pruning;

"It's what we trust in but don't yet see that keeps us going."

If/when you face those times of pruning, it's time to remember that our hope, our trust is based on the things we can't yet see.  We know that this life is a shadow, a mist; it is here today, and gone tomorrow...yet God's truth remains.

If you're in a time of pruning, hang in there, and remember what happens after a season of pruning - the blossoms grow and a new beauty is just around the corner.