‘Tis the season.  I’ve pruned my rose bushes way back.  Even the tall perennials are cut down.  In a few more weeks, with the help of fertilizer and water, healthy new growth will appear.  As butcher of the bushes, I will not have killed my plants.  The bushes life actually increases with pruning and will (hopefully) yield beautiful flowers.

It seems that our loving God intentionally prunes us as well.  We’re each unique and our pruning won’t all look the same, but God’s pruning is a process.  We entrust it to Him.  We know that He is good and is at work in our lives.   God may use our trials to make us more like Christ.  With this perspective we can even say that our trials are a gift.

The New Testament letter from James begins with , “My brothers consider yourselves fortunate when all kinds of trials come your way, for you know that when you faith succeeds in facing such trials, the result is the ability to endure.”  James 1:2-3

A contemporary writer, Dave Forman, addresses this same subject.  “It may feel like you’re being chopped up, but the divine gardener is pruning you so that you can bear more fruit than you could ever ask for or imagine.”*   

It is my hope that today brings you joy.   But if you find yourself feeling like you’re being “chopped up,”   remember that your God still loves you unconditionally.  His “pruning” will help you to live among His people in deeper understanding and love, and prepare you for a beautiful life in His kingdom forever.

Judy

*Dave Forman,  Kiss the Wave:  Embracing God in Your Trials