The Power of the Cut

"I am the true vine, and My Father is the vine dresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes that it may bear more fruit"...John 15:1

The image for today is of this rose bush that I planted a while ago. We're waiting for new buds and blossoms to appear, so right now it's just leaves and thorns because we've already picked it's bounty.

I planted this rose bush about six years ago. I nurtured it and fed it organic rose food, but until last year, I had never pruned it. And it produced a couple of blossoms here and there that were pretty to look at, but they never lasted long.

Early last year, at the advice of a friend who is an avid gardener, I cut it back a little, and it produced a few buds more than usual. And I was so happy to get a few more roses--but they were small and still didn't last long.

Then, at the end of the year, dear husband who had just completed his Master Gardener's class, told me he wanted to prune my rose bush, and I agreed. He said he was going to really cut it back, and I said, that was fine. However, I wasn't prepared for the shock of seeing my rose bush cut back to a nub, a stump, a bare stalk! He seemed apologetic, saying that it even had some diseased areas , but he assured me it would grow back in better shape.

Well, he was right! I was surprised at what transpired this past April, when the rose bush, (much smaller than it was before), produced a bounty of deeper-colored, big-headed, sweet-smelling blossoms that I had never seen before. (photo to the right)

I was awed! I'll have to find and post the photos I took of my meager roses before the big cut, so you can really see the difference.

So all my years of nurturing and feeding it the best food possible, still did not produce the results that the cut did.

The roses made me think of the scripture in John (above) which talks about God pruning--giving the big cut--that makes us produce more fruit.

Arrgh! The pain of it! Who wants to be cut back, pruned? No doubt requiring the cutting away of some things that are comfortable and familiar.

God allows us to choose. So I'm choosing to submit to the Lord, allowing Him to prune areas of my life that need it. Asking Him to show me where changes need to be made, where things that are not necessarily wrong, but are hindrances, that need to be cast aside (Hebrews 12:1). And also asking Him for the grace to just do it!

However painful it may be, when I look at the choice between big, beautiful, perfume-laden blossoms, and the meager ones I had before, I've decided the sacrifice is worth the reward. if God's pruning will produce results like this, where I'll be more fruitful, more beautiful and giving off that fragrance that He loves, prune me! Though it may be painful, as He cuts away those dead, non-productive areas of my life, I want to experience the power of the cut!


ADDENDUM: I did find an image of what the roses looked like before. This is one of the few that appeared on the bush last year, and this was as big they got.