I’m not a great gardener; I usually kill plants much easier than manage to keep them alive. My track record with all things green is not good. However, my nieces are great at growing green things and also suggesting green things that will be easy enough for even me to keep alive. Bless them and their green thumbs.

One plant I’ve proudly kept alive is on my windowsill at work (that’s my plant in the picture today). I have a calendar reminder that pops up every Monday morning at 9:30AM to remind me to water it. One surprising thing that I wasn’t expecting is that even though it’s easy to care for, even though I water it on Mondays, some leaves still turn yellow. Now I’m not an agronomist, but even I know that those yellow leaves need to be pruned. Those aren’t going to contribute to the overall health of the plant and need to be removed. Case in point? The yellow leaf I draped over the birdhouse – do you see it? It was dead and needed to go for the betterment of the plant.

Life walking with God is like that. We water our souls with reading our Bibles, prayer (both individually and corporately), discussions with others about the Bible and what God is doing in our lives and many other things that serve as fertilizer to growing a beautiful life.

But just like that yellow leaf I removed, the Holy Spirit convicts our souls of things that need to be pruned to contribute to the overall health of our life. The truth in the Bible says:

“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. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.” – John 15:1-4

Consider the people, activities and happenings in your life today and see if they align with God’s truth. Are they bearing good fruit or are there things that need to be pruned? If God is asking you to prune, ask Him to help you and give you patience to see the blessing in that.