Some of the
flowers in our planters were wilting and turning brown. There were still plants with healthy blooms and a few new buds forming. To extend the blooming period of these plants I needed to deadhead them.
Deadheading is done by removing the flowers as they fade. Pruning and pinching keeps the plant from going to seed and then dying.
As I did this I pondered the process of removing what is no longer needed so that new growth can occur. This is true in life as well as in gardening.
There have been times I’ve held onto thoughts and behaviours that were not productive. The only comfortable thing about them was their familiarity. Still, I clung to them as though they were something precious.
Jesus gave the example of people being the vine and God the gardener. This biblical example was what I needed to focus on. Pruning in my life needed to be done before I could begin to live the fruitful life that had been planned for me.
“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.” (John 15:1,2 NIV)