Every garden must be tended
Today I visited a very large nursery. These plants went on for rows and rows filling somewhere close to an acre or two. There were dozens of people deadheading and pruning all the plants. Some were even being uprooted to be placed where they would grow better. When a plant is left unattended, it will grow spindly and wild. Only with pruning will the plant grow stronger and give more nutrients to feed the blossoms that will smell wonderful and bring forth fruit.
The Bible tells us that God is the vine and we are his branches. When left to our own devises we grow wild and sickly in Spirit. We are not living up to our potential so it is time for some pruning to be done. This pruning, in our lives, is never a comfortable thing to have done. It is a time of testing so we can be fruitful and flourish. We may even be uprooted and planted elsewhere so we can serve the Lord more effectively. It is when we must trust the Master Gardener to do what is best for us.
As parents we need to keep our children from getting wild and spiritually sick. A simple NO can go a long way in making our children thrive and be the best they can be.
We as authors have all experienced editing that is painful, but produces a far better manuscript for the effort. The same is true in our lives, sometimes a diet both physical and spiritual can be painful but necessary to produce sweet blossoms.
I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
John 15:1
Six years thou shalt sow thy field, and six years thou shalt prune thy vineyard, and gather in the fruit thereof;
Leviticus 25:3
And I will lay it waste: it shall not be pruned, nor digged; but there shall come up briers and thorns: I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it.
Isaiah 5:6m the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
John 15:1
Six years thou shalt sow thy field, and six years thou shalt prune thy vineyard, and gather in the fruit thereof;
Leviticus 25:3
And I will lay it waste: it shall not be pruned, nor digged; but there shall come up briers and thorns: I will also command the clouds that they rain no rain upon it.
Isaiah 5:6