Pruning for a Harvest   

by Tina Kacirek

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at a proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Galatians 6:9

    I think the hardest part about doing God's will, is not seeing manifestations of your work.  We hear His call, we strive and then we wonder, "Where is the fruit here?"  But before we get to pick that perfect bloom to place on our table, we have to wait.  Every elegant rose started from lying in the dirt. It can feel like we are lying in that dirt for a long time.  Whether it's waiting for a job change, waiting on an adoption,  a child's behavior improve, a relationship to develop or for healing to occur...whatever it is you are praying for make sure you've got it planted in richly fertilized soil.

    When we adopted our daughter, we found that while she had been given just enough to sustain life, she didn't have the things necessary for thriving.  Her perspective about life was being developed in a small crib stored in a dim little room with one or two other children. She learned that crying didn't bring forth a soothing response. Entertainment was made of flies dancing around the walls. Pleasure was found in smelling the food as it approached her only to be thrown back up.  Her roots were growing in soil filled with fear and uncertaintly. 

    We were so eager to bring her home and fill her with life-giving fruit that would bring forth victorious living. We weren't prepared for the amount of work involved. God gave us a calling alright. We thought it involved lots of joy at watching a flower blossom. But before the blossom arrives, the growth has to happen. Before growth takes place, the seed must be planted in the right place for the roots to extend down deep ensuring it can hold up the vibrant flower at its peak.

   We didn't get to dress her up and run off to the park and meet and greet all of our friends like we had envisioned.  That was my dream but not her needs. Part of the growth process happens to be pruning our fleshly desires and comforts so that we can heed to the greater works. Cutting off a part of our being hurts. It often requires loss of friends, loss of current habits and the comforts of what is known.  But have you ever looked at a plant that has never been pruned and compared it to the plant that has been?  You can see a big difference.  The one who was pruned, has vibrant blooms and many more of them.  We're that way too.  If I had stayed with what I always knew, Grace wouldn't have found her necessary soil for learning about attachment and family and I wouldn't have found the pruning necessary for my own faith to blossom.  Before I accepted pruning, I fought it.  While I was already satisfied in the development of my plant, God wasn't.  He wanted bigger things for me.

    As we looked to God above He spoke to us, showing us what was necessary to happen.  When it hurt as those pieces of our lives were stripped away, He whispered, "I will never leave you."  As I worked with my daughter, I found improvement slow and sometimes nonexistent.  I don't remember a specific day when things ever became all better. We still have some pruning to do as we grow and now I know our pruning should be viewed in only one way; Our Father calling us to reach heavenward and to embrace His plan.

    Be reassured in your circumstances. Don't give up when it's difficult to follow Him.  After the pruning and growth is the blossom.  You might be at the bud stage, just around the corner from amazing manifestations. Don't be satisfied with less than the best God has in store for you. He's called you to greatness! He knows that once your growth reaches full bloom, its beauty speaks to those who walk past you.  They stop for a moment and gaze at your standout magnificence and wonder where it came from.  It's in you that they see the possibility, the hope in Christ Jesus for themselves.  This is God's glory and our purpose in this world.

Dear Jesus,

Give me the courage and strength to take the next step on faith, trusting Lord that you are using me to bring hope to others along my way.  I praise you for your endless perfect love, nurturing me at every stage.

In Jesus name, I pray. Amen.