Pruning

"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

"Pruning is essentially the act of discarding old plant materials to allow the plant's resources to build new growth. Another way of saying that is when a plant has been alive awhile it usually has parts that are older and less vibrant than other parts of the plant. You probably have seen plants that look tired and have a dichotomy of looks. Part of the plant looks vibrant and green and other parts look dark green or brown.

This is due to the fact that these older "stems" are not able to maintain what is fed to them by the root system as well as they once could.

The idea is to identify branches or stems that are dead or have slowed down in their functioning. Once they are identified, then it is time to remove them by cutting them off...

What now happens is that the root system can more easily feed what is left on the vegetation or the plant/ that is the stems and/or branches.

So pruning then is the the act of removing damaged or old foliage from a plant in order to strengthen it. This ongoing procedure will make a garden or landscape get stronger and stronger." - How and Why we Must Prune Plants (published March 05, 2009 by Gary Davis).

Father God, we know that you are the good gardener and that you want us to be strong in you and to occupy the land. You want us to grow to be vibrant, and to flourish like a beautiful landscape. I pray that we could participate in the pruning process of our lives, so that these things could be true of us. We love you and we trust your gentle, yet firm loving hand...Guide us as only you can...