“
Laurel had watched him prune.
Holding the shears in both hands,
he performed a sort of weighty sarabande,
with a lop for this side,
then a lop for the other side,
as though he were bowing to his partner,
and left the bush looking like a puzzle.”

— Eudora Welty, The Optimist's Daughter

Some in our family are “panicky pruners.” When my husband prunes our trees, my son and I sense the immediate need to rush outside and supervise. We’re reluctant because we fear his cuts will be too drastic. Yet, the trees flourish.

When people visit our area, they comment on how green everything is. Our climate is a bit like living in a greenhouse. In a few seasons, pruning becomes a necessity.

This year my husband cropped our two-story lilac to under five feet tall. Now it’s pumping out new growth like a champ! The apple trees, too, have taken a hard pruning and produced the best apples for savory pies we can find anywhere. 

Our pruned lilac

After my husband gently pruned the Japanese Maple in early spring, it sent out crazy shoots that overtook the patio canopy. Now it’s time for more aggressive measures.

I must admit, I’m a converted pruner. I don’t wince about it as I did before. However, there is a kind of pruning that I still resist. It’s God’s. His pruning can hurt. One way I experience His pruning is when He doesn’t answer my prayers as I think He should. How could He take from me what seemed obviously good? And how will He make good come from the devastation that He’s allowed?

I’ve run into the wall of God’s sovereignty many times, and it doesn’t budge. When our wills collide, He refines me. He prunes away my stubbornness and pride. He corrects the assumption that my plan is best and shows me that my help is not needed for things to turn out right. He prunes me down to the core of my faith.

“He cuts off every branch of mine that doesn’t produce fruit, and he prunes the branches that do bear fruit so they will produce even more.” John 15:2 NIV

This transformation is grueling. God tests my sincerity as I pray The Lord’s Prayer, “Your will be done.” He teaches me humility, surrender, and obedience. 

Perhaps you are resistant like me. Do you struggle with yielding to God’s will at times too? I know it can be agonizing.

It has helped me to ponder Jesus’ example. He sweat blood as he surrendered His will to the Father at Gethsemane. Through His obedience, Jesus brought many sons to glory. And His victory over sin and death still bears fruit today! 

As His disciples, we will bear fruit, too, as we surrender our lives to God’s purposes. Pruning is part of getting there. Hopefully, we’ll learn to trust Him when life doesn’t make sense—believing that His plans are eternal and good.

In time, we’ll thrive like masterfully pruned trees—fruitful and glorious!

“When you produce much fruit, you are my true disciples. This brings great glory to my Father.” John 15:8 NIV

“Hope is the thing with feathers

that perches in the soul,

And sings the tune without the words

And never stops at all.”

— Emily Dickinson

My imagination comes alive reading this excerpt from a poem by Emily Dickinson. It pulls together two loves of mine: beautiful writing and steadfast hope. I can imagine hope flying, perching, and singing like a songbird. I love the idea of hope perching in my soul, not stopping, but enduring.

We can put our hope in a lot of things: people, circumstances, our desires. But do you know that hope placed in God is another matter altogether? It’s strong. It’s confident. It’s an anchor for our soul.

Hope is a confident expectation in God and His Word.

Who do you know that is full of hope? I bet they see the world through a lens of faith trusting God to work for their good in difficult circumstances. Their sights are set on heaven where God will bring justice and glory to our world. And this assurance … they KNOW in their bones. 

These heroes of the faith have likely been through a hefty trial or two. Their faith has been tested and they’ve experienced God as he says he is … strong, faithful, and closer than a brother. Do you know their stories? He’s made Himself real to them, so real, there is no doubt. Now, God is not like a fairy godmother or godfather granting every wish, but He’s good, so good. In fact, His love never fails.

If you read the verse below, it talks about how we can glory in our suffering, not for suffering's sake, but because of its result. And what is the result of our suffering?

“Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. ”

— Romans 5:3-4

If you have hope, can you trace it back to suffering? Or, if you are presently suffering, will you press on knowing God will keep you through your trials and transform you into a person full of perseverance, character, and hope? Stay strong and keep your faith. 

Perhaps someday, our hope, though forged in the fire and as tough as nails, will be able to sing, carefree as a bird, perched in our soul.