Pruning

I'm not much of a gardener, but I'm trying to be. A few years ago, we moved and finally have space for a garden.

In one partially sunny spot, I planted a raspberry bush. This year, it did nothing—just looked dead. Actually, it did sprout some new shoots, so I knew it was alive. But in a bit of frustration, I "pruned" it.

It's not bearing fruit. What else would I do?

In many aspects of life, we have this expectation for fruit. Things should bear fruit. And if they don't, well, they get pruned. If you don't hit your sales numbers, you're not performing. That's a problem.

Scripture reiterates this point too. Our Lord makes several references to bearing fruit—good fruit, bad fruit, fruitless branches.

Here's what I realized: pruning isn't punishment. It's gardening.

Sometimes things in our lives aren't bearing fruit—habits, relationships, pursuits that drain us without giving back. We can cling to them out of comfort or fear of change.

But maybe they need to be pruned. Not out of anger or frustration, but because something better can grow in their place.