It’s Pruning Time
“Dianne hurry up, I’m waiting out here.”
Taking a quick cold drink from my water bottle I knelt down to tie my walking shoes. In a burst of energy, I jogged through the living room to the front door. Outside I met my husband on the sidewalk in front of our house. He was dressed in a black tee shirt, shorts, and running shoes. I ducked instinctively as a bee buzzed past my ear while I was stepping down from the front porch. The birds and frogs were singing to greet me in my haste to get started. This walk was my ticket to getting back into shape!
Before we could take a step I noticed the rosebush in full bloom. The delicate velvet red petals opened to the bright sun. I inhaled the sweet fragrance lingering in the humid breeze. In just a passing glance I savored the crimson flowers on display.
It was a Birthday gift a few years ago. One of those presents Brad bought me under the pretense: This is all I want for my Birthday. Though Brad knew this to be false he couldn’t say no, and besides it was on Sale.
After digging the hole, planting it, covering the roots with black potting soil, and watering it I hoped it would survive. I don’t have much of a green thumb, but I loved roses. Thankfully we bought a hearty variety because it took off without much help from me initially. But the following spring I was careful to prune the woody-looking branches back so the beautiful roses would have the strength to bloom again.
To prune means to:
Trim back
Cut away dead or overgrown branches or stems
Remove the excess to increase fruitfulness and growth
Reduce the extent of something by removing unwanted parts.
People like plants need time for pruning to thrive in a healthier way. In this current season, I am working on myself. It seems selfish to say that, but when you ignore your own needs your physical body and emotions start to fall apart.
On our walk, Brad talked excitedly about his little plants. Recently he decided to plant a small garden. As a child, he grew up in a rural area, surrounded by corn fields. To have a garden didn’t seem out of the question, but the new passion only sprung up this year.
He researched gardening and to his surprise, he learned some plants do not like each other. At the same time, there are other plants that thrive being planted side by side. With this new knowledge, I did some research too learning lavender is a good plant to couple with the rose. Though lavender can be a good friend, the rosebush needs its own space to maintain a healthy root system. Having adequate space also allows for enough sunlight and water for the rosebuds to flourish.
“The rose and the thorn, and sorrow and gladness are linked together.”
This lesson from the natural world is easily relatable to our social world: not all of us were meant to be planted next to each other. This is one reason why it is important to find enough space to work on ourselves. When we take the time to deal with our inner life we can handle the less-than-agreeable people we have to interact with. In fact, unlike plants, we can adapt to them and actually learn from someone who is difficult to like or respect. This is the truth, but in reality, I never enjoy such circumstances.
Sometimes I hear people say bloom where you are planted. I want to be a happy little flower, but I also know pruning is sometimes necessary. In the spring, winter debris has to be removed for the new growth to take place. With the trimming shears in hand as I snip and cut at the branches I wonder if I am doing it right. Will any new life spring up in the midst of the pile of dead branches and thorns? Just as dead branches from the rose bush must be cut back we need to be pruned too. This is the process of reevaluating our negative thoughts and actions to move toward better health.
The ruby-colored buds unfurling into full bloom reassure me the pruning was successful. New vitality hangs beautifully from each hearty branch. In my experience, pruning hurts. The action usually occurs after a hard winter of the soul. It is a wonder that anything could grow back at all after the painful cuts have been made. Still, somehow new hope and vision sprout up like green shoots from within.
Forgiveness is the secret to moving on after pruning seasons. But the truth is, true forgiveness is very hard to give without God. I have been working on forgiveness in many areas of my life. In some circumstances, it comes easily, but there are other branches that have been so severely cut back that it hurts just thinking about it.
I also have learned forgiveness is a choice. In matters of faith, I think of Jesus. He chose to lay down his life to be the sacrifice for our sins. He gave his body up freely, out of his love for us. He chose to forgive our sins and release us from the punishment we deserved. He invites us to do the same. I am spending time working on my heart so I can be a forgiver like my Lord Jesus.
“Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.”
How do we work on ourselves? For me, it means slowing down. When I pick up the bible I approach it differently. Instead of marking off another chapter or book as finished, I try to read with a listening ear.
God, what are you speaking to me today?
Worship has been simplified. It is not a song or lyric. It is merely the act of bending my knees and bowing my head in surrender to My Maker. At present, on a ministry sabbatical, I feel like I am a fish out of water. But God is not surprised by this season of pruning. Who am I without being in ministry? I am simply: A daughter of God. I am not a Loser, because I am resting. No! The Lord is doing something even now in the secret places underneath the surface of my heart. I worship Him as I am reminded His banner over me remains His unfailing love.
Are you being pruned in an area of your life right now?
I feel peace knowing this pruning season is bringing forth good things. I am being cut back so that new life can spring forth. In a fresh way I am learning: We are not what we do for God. We are simply His daughters and sons. Out of that relationship comes the desire to do good deeds for God to bless Him and other people.
So I say out loud: I forgive. Sometimes I feel it, and sometimes I don’t. I know I have to tighten the belt and take my negative thoughts captive. When the reminders and the accusations come into my head I must not merely clip them off, but I must pull them up by the roots. These negative thoughts are weeds trying to strangle out the good things taking root and growing in my pruned life.
This is how I am working on myself. And I realize this work goes beyond the spiritual it reaches toward my thought life and my physical body. In the winter it is easy to stop working out, and in the midwest, the sun is not strong enough to give us the doses of Vitamin D we need. It had been far too easy to be sluggish and unproductive. As the days started warming up I looked in the mirror and frowned at the result of several months of inactivity.
On that sunny afternoon, I was happy to get moving again. Our conversation wove between gardening and children, my writing, and Brad’s business. Our feet turned from the dirt road back onto the gravel as we sauntered toward our house. I held fast to the calloused hand of my best friend of twenty-five years. Together we have weathered many storms. We are a team but we both have felt the sting of the pruning process. As the natural beauty awakened our senses we spoke of the unexpected hope found in this mysterious season. The sage-colored knee-high prairie grass moved lazily in the breeze as my eyes were drawn to the splashes of pink, purple, and yellow of wildflowers growing up naturally. The red-winged blackbirds called back and forth from their perches on the old barbed wire fence stretching across the ditches. Just beyond the wooden posts, fields sown with green rows of corn spread out for miles interrupted only by an occasional bale of hay.
We live in a Grant Wood painting, I thought admiring the rustic beauty. Still, life is not all brilliant strokes from an artist’s paintbrush. So much depends on the way we frame the moments. After our walk taking one more look at my cherished rosebush I noticed each delicate petal spread wide willingly offering its fragrance and taking in the warmth of the sun without apology. I too want to live with an open heart and willing spirit to give beauty to others and receive new strength from God even if it requires getting out the pruning shears.
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