Pruning

In our backyard we have a rosebush that is really, really blooming this year. A few weeks ago it was bright red with tons of flowers. It was very pretty, But, it also needed work.

Anyone who has grown their own produce or worked with flowers knows you need to do the occasional pruning. As beautiful as the rose bush was, there were maybe 40 flowers on it. But when I started pruning I noticed two things. One, some of the flowers were wilting or dying, but they were still taking nutrients from the bush. The other thing, there were buds waiting to come out. Over 90! (I counted). And those buds couldn't get sun because of the flowers over them. The bush needed to be pruned to allow growth.

Sometimes I think we need to do this to grow spiritually. We have areas that are dying or wilting, but from afar they look great or they just seem like a part of the plant. We even have healthy parts, but they are draining the overall plant. It really hurts to prune those parts, they seem vital and alive. Although they're alive, they're not vital and need to go so other parts can grow.

What in your life needs to be pruned? Look at what you spend time on, money on, effort on. What needs to be set aside? It may even be something that seems good, but is blocking / sucking the life out of something more important...

T