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. – John 15:1-2
No one likes the process of pruning and the pain of loss, but fruit only grows on new wood. – Leonard Sweet
Everything has seasons, and we have to be able to recognize when something’s time has passed and be able to move into the next season. Everything that is alive requires pruning as well, which is a great metaphor for endings. – Henry Cloud
For some time now, I have been dead-heading and trimming the rose bushes at the church. Although I never met Curly Taylor, I am pleased to know that I am carrying on in his stead in caring for our roses.
For those who might not know, to get the most flower production out of a rose bush, you need to be continually plucking or trimming off the old rose buds once the flower has faded past its prime. Without this trimming, the bush continues sending its energy and nutrients into the rosehips. While some gardeners want rosehips for various uses, most of us are primarily interested in as many beautiful roses as we can get. If we don’t dead-head (cutting off the rosehips) the bush will produce fewer new flowers, and instead put more and more energy into the growth of the seed-bearing rosehips.
Even more drastic or severe than dead-heading is the practice of dramatically pruning back the branches of a bush every early Spring, so that the new branches to come will be even better at producing fresh new leaves and new buds and flowers. As I’ve learned more about roses, I have had to learn that it really is best to prune off as much as possible each spring to receive the best outcome throughout the rest of the growing year.
In the remaining weeks of Lent, I encourage us each to spend some time in discernment as to what in your current life could use some “pruning”. What are you doing that is no longer productive? What relationships are no longer enlivening? What is taking up your time, your energy, and your focus that is really last season’s branches? What new things have you been meaning to do? What new possibilities are there that God is calling you toward, that will need all the energy and focus that you can muster? I sometimes find that I need to prune away at the clutter of my schedule just to have the energy to dream of what new thing might happen.
It can be hard to let go of things that were once thriving and blooming, as we remember how beautiful they once were. As individuals and as church we have to fight the tendency to be overly romantic about what once was, so that we can prune back to the solid heart of our lives and our ministry in order for new growth to occur. May our prayer be that God will help us cut away at the deadwood in our lives, as painful as that might be, so that we might enjoy more beautiful new blooms in this next season.
Peace, Pastor Layne