Recently my oldest son brought home a plant from school. In my heart, I dreaded that plant as soon as I saw it. Typically, our school plants don’t last that long, and their shriveled dry forms bring sorrow to my children within a few short days. 

But my son’s face wore a smile. He came into the house like a papa bear with his cub and quickly established the rules:  No one was to touch his plant, water his plant, or move his plant other than himself. He promptly got a large cup to place it in, and set about carefully measuring water into a measuring cup and lovingly watering his plant. 

And watering it. And watering it. And keeping it tucked back in the corner of the kitchen counter, in a nice shady spot. 

As you might expect, within 2-3 days, the once green bouncy leaves were yellowing and droopy, some even sporting spots of decay. But whenever we tried to talk to my son about it, offer suggestions, he didn’t want to hear it. He felt like a failure and resisted all advice. 

Finally my husband took hold of the plant despite my son’s protests, promptly poured about 2 cups of water out of it, opened the window and set it in the sunshine.  

I thought there was no hope. 

Gradually green moldy leaves started to lift their heads toward the sunshine. My son tried to water it again, but we taught him to check the soil and only water it if dry. Finally, 2 of the 3 leaves were looking not so bad, but a third was still yellow and drooping low.  

I knew we needed to cut it off but that my son would be resistant. 

A day or two later, I had my answer. A green plant of my own that sits near the same kitchen window (and has managed to survive for years now, and no, it’s not plastic) had a yellow leaf on it too one morning. 

Teaching moment! I thought, as I carefully moved my plant near my son’s, with a pair of scissors between them. My son was already hovering nervously over his plant, knowing what i wanted to do and resisting already. 

I said, the Bible says that in order for us be fruitful (he knows the song about the fruits of the spirit- love, joy, peace, patience….) we have to stay connected to the vine- Jesus. And that the Bible also says when we are fruitful, sometimes God prunes us, so we can be even more fruitful. He cuts off the parts that aren’t bearing fruit… And I cut off the yellow branch on my own plant. 

Then handed my son the scissors. 

Still a bit hesitant, he took a deep breath and cut off the yellow dying leaf from his own plant. I know it was a total act of trust in me, while I was desperately praying that this Bible lesson wouldn’t fall head over heels and kill the whole plant. 

I didn’t think much about it until today- days later- when I happened to look down into the cup at his plant. There are 3 new leaves!  And one is pretty big!  I got to show him today that for the one dying leaf he cut off, 3 more green beautiful leaves grew in its place!  

And that’s when the message hit me. 

See, God is pruning me. And I’ve been resistant. My heart has become filled with conflict (sermon topic this week conveniently enough!), my prayers have become selfish, I want to avoid the trial- go in a different direction- I don’t want to keep walking through it. I’ve even thought God made a mistake- surely THIS is not what He intended. 

But the leaf my son cut off, that was bearing no fruit, just sitting there being ugly, has been replaced by good leaves, green and healthy and growing. 

If God is the Gardener, and He wants to use this trial to prune me, to remove the ugliness that doesn’t glorify Him, and to grow good fruit in its place, for His glory, so be it. 

So be it Lord. 

Pray for me. Pray I will continue through this trial and not quit until God says the time has finished. Pray I will let God prune me, that I won’t fight Him. That He will cut away things in me that don’t glorify Him, and that He will be glorified by growing the fruit of His Spirit in its place. 

““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. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”

‭‭John‬ ‭15:1-8‬ ‭NIV‬‬

http://bible.com/111/jhn.15.1-8.niv
Looks like we have some more pruning to do…