I’ll never forget the day our new lawn company came to “treat and trim” our yard after we had moved into our home. What I didn’t realize was that it was pruning season. By the time they finished, they’d cut the rose bushes back so much that they looked like nothing but sticks. I wondered if they’d survive.

But to my surprise, not only did the bushes come back, but they grew fuller, stronger, and more beautiful than before. Though it seemed harsh, I learned that pruning allowed the bushes to grow healthier and bear more blooms.

God, our Loving Gardener, does the same with us. He removes the parts of our lives that hinder growth, cutting away what holds us back from producing Spiritual Fruit. God’s Pruning might look like losing a relationship, sickness, the loss of a loved one, a difficult marriage, a traumatic experience, stepping back for a season, or letting go of old habits or tightly held plans. These hardships are not sent at random but by a Wise Gardener who knows exactly what each one of us needs in order to become a Fruitful Branch.

Our lives and the Fruit we bear are meant to glorify Him and bless others. That’s why our Heavenly Father will not leave us the way we are. Being disciplined or pruned may hurt us, but it will never harm us. God is always after our good, and we can trust Him with every “treat and trim” He makes in our lives.