Like most families, my dad and mom were big on household chores.  By “big” I mean we had them, and we had lots of them.  Of course, we had indoor chores.  Those included things like sweeping and vacuuming floors, and mopping when needed, which they needed a lot. We also made beds, dusted, organized closets and dressers, cleaned and swept the basement, and the bathroom and kitchen.  Spring cleaning meant all the hardwood floors got a coat of Johnson’s wax as did all the woodwork, and windows inside and out.  However, as endless as that list seemed we also had outdoor chores.  Mowing, picking up sticks and trash, raking and trimming, plus we had almost half an acre of garden.  Yet we still had time to play, ride bikes, do homework, practice piano, etc. 

One of my outdoor chores was to trim the hedge.  Our property had a spirea on one side to buffer our property from the street.  When we moved to Peculiar in 1964 the spirea was well on the way to being overgrown.  As a fourth grader and armed only with a pair of ancient hedge trimmers, there were times when all we could trim was the sides.  These bushes remained unruly for a few years until we got a ladder so we could reach the top of the bushes. 

One summer we decided to give the bushes a good whacking.  We cut them way back so that very little green was left. They looked terrible; just sticks poking out of the ground. However, you could see over the top of the bushes.  As the rains came and the sun shone on those protruding sticks new life began to be seen.  By the end of the summer, those sticks were covered with green leaves.  The hedge was finally manageable and beautiful.

We also had a few roses.  I never knew that roses needed to be pruned every year in the winter.  As a result, we never had beautiful roses.  Oh, they would bloom each year, but they wouldn’t thrive.  Pruning is an essential part of gardening.  Regular pruning helps to do 6 things.

  • Maintain Plant Health and Aesthetics: --This involves the removal of dead, diseased, or injured plant parts. ...
  • Control Growth: ...
  • Encourage Flower and Fruit Production: ...
  • Create Special Forms Through Grafting: …
  • Rejuvenate Old or Overgrown Plants: ...
  • Protect People and Property:

Jesus told His disciples in John 15:1&2

15 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vineyard keeper. 2 Every branch in Me that does not produce fruit He removes, and He prunes every branch that produces fruit so that it will produce more fruit.

I remember being hesitant to give bushes a good whack.  When we lived in Enid, our side yard had holly shrubs.  I got tired of them extending over the sidewalk and growing too high.  I whacked ‘em good.  They also looked terrible for a year or so, but finally, new growth appeared.  Our loving heavenly father gives us a good whacking sometimes.  Yes, you prune away the dead wood, but you also prune the good growth.  It never feels good to be pruned.  Sometimes it might feel like God is taking away the very best in your life.  But God sees things from the standpoint of a master gardener.  He knows what we (the plants in His garden) were made to be as well as how to get the very best out of us.  For Him to leave us unpruned would be lazy and unloving.  We know that God never wearies, nor does He slumber.  He is always working, not just in the world but also on us.

Do you feel like God has given your life a good whacking? In the midst of your crying and complaining, have you ever taken a moment to thank God for His pruning?  The thing God has taken away is the very thing that must be deleted.  His goal is for you to be healthier, stronger, and more productive, spiritually speaking.  Isn’t that worth whatever you’re “growing” through?  I think so. It’s true for you and its true for me. 

Another caveat of pruning is it proves God’s love for you! So, turn that frown upside down today.  You are blessed if you’re being pruned.

Blessings,

Marty