The pile

This is a picture of the pile of yard debris out by my curb. It contains several very dead branches from a boxwood, a tall, young oak tree that decided to spring up in the center of said boxwood, a bit of unproductive azalea, multiple branches of holly that were trying to become bushes again (that stuff will NOT die!), and a significant number of nandinas cut down this past Saturday. It makes quite the pile. By the time this is published, the pile will have been removed by the city workers to wherever it is that they take such things here and the curb area will be clean again.

The pile is actually pretty. There’s not a single thing in it that I haven’t, at some point in the past, used in a floral arrangement and sent out to bring cheer to someone I love.

What makes this time different? Location, timing, and knowledge.

If I had to guess, those are some of the same criteria I believe God uses when He starts the pruning process in my life…and, maybe, yours, too.

Some of the things in my pile looked pretty good in place, but they were dangerous to other living things. Some were thorny and could injure those who got too close. Others had already passed their usefulness and were simply taking up space required for new growth.

Again, I know God sees some of those same things in me. He, alone, knows the best times for the removal of those attitudes, actions, and beliefs that need to change–even if they might have been useful at some point in our past. When I grant Him full access, His activity in my life is a cause for celebration and brings me closer to the picture of what He has planned for my best interests…even if the pruning process isn’t usually all that comfortable…or pretty.

What if we looked at our current areas of discomfort for guidelines of what God might be choosing to prune for our growth instead of assuming “it’s the other guy’s fault” and joining in the fray? What if we trusted and cooperated instead of growing angry and frustrated? What if we chose peace instead of the pile?

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. ² 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. ³ You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. ⁴ 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.“ John 15: 1-4 (NIV)

Grace and Peace!