Pruning

It's hard to believe how fast God has been moving us along these past few weeks.  He has sent a family to buy our home, He led us to a rental home in Gilly's school district that is owned by a dear friend, our Prayer Warrior support is growing by leaps and bounds, our financial support is beginning to grow and Nick's piano is being moved to our home church on Saturday.  WHEW!  That's a lot!  I was telling a friend this morning that God is truly pruning us. I have heard this term many times throughout my walk with Christ, but I have never taken it to heart. 

Pruning: to trim by cutting away dead or overgrown branches or stems, especially to increase fruitfulness and growth.

"To trim by cutting away", this has really hit home with me.  I know God is pruning us and especially me.  God has pruned many things in my life over the past months that I have been holding close to my heart.  My home, my clothes, my furniture and my highlighted hair (you know what I mean ladies).  God has helped me in so many ways to become a more effective, non-judgmental, Christian during this process. No, those two words don't always go together (non-judgmental and Christian).  You pull up in someone's driveway and you think, "Wow, that's a nice house." Or you see a friend for lunch and think, "What a cute pair of shoes, I wonder if those are Keens, I bet she makes a lot of money?"  In our culture, we are held to a certain status by what we purchase and we develop an opinion of people by where they live and what they drive and wear.  For me, this was a BIG "cutting away of dead branches".  God must have stopped by the heavenly Walmart and bought the jumbo pruners and has been trimming like crazy!  LOL.

Why does God prune us?  My answer comes easily, but with difficulty, even-though it's a necessity as Christians. God brings us back to why we started down the path as a Christian; for the love of Christ and to see love through His eyes, not the world's.  I shared with my best friend the other day, during a tearful time, that, "When God gets finished pruning me, there will be nothing left!"  Then I asked her, "What will be left?".  "Christ." she answered. Yes, Christ!  He is the important portion of the definition of pruning, "to increase fruitfulness and growth.".  God has been pruning me of my worldly appearance and possessions to help me grow in Christ, to help me bloom on the inside, regardless of what people see on the outside.  What will be left is Christ!  I know that my pruning will produce the most beautiful tree with God's help.  When I think about it, I see a big glorious tree with deep roots and high billowing branches, reaching far and wide. And carved in the trunk it reads, "I am His alone, not the world's. Thanks be to God!"