Pruning season, OUCH!

Ever wondered why the pruning #season can be so harsh and aggressive? When trees and plants get pruned, I can only imagine how naked and exposed they feel. Nevertheless, the truth is, in all its harshness, we (the plants, trees and human beings) need to go through pruning because we can’t bloom if old leaves or buds are still there. We have to let them fall off freely. For the stubborn ones that won’t fall off freely, we have to help them by pluck them off.

This was my #reflection when I realized that my plant might be dying. Although the flower petals on the stems were half-dead, I kept watering the plant, in the hope that they will bloom again. When I realized that wasn’t going to happen, I started taking them off, one by one. As I did that, I felt a release from within. A release #symbolic of me letting go of the things that were holding me back from my growth, from being and living life the way God had designed it for me. I wondered, why do we keep watering dead places, hoping to revive them, when in fact, something greater and better is waiting for us in the horizon. Something that God has prepared for us.

With that in mind, one by one, I plucked the #flower petals off. But worry was subletting in my mind, so when it kicked in, wanting to halt me in my tracks, my husband and daughter assuringly said: “they will grow again”. With that, my daughter roughly pulled one out. I asked her to be gentle or leave it to me to tender. She did. Anyway, I didn’t buy what they said about the flowers growing back, so I took a closer look and of course, I found a flaw. One of the branches was turning brown and the already waning hope of that plant ever blooming diminished even further.

Isn’t this the same with how we sometimes approach #life? But how do I get out of it, you may ask?

Well, during a season of pruning, be careful where you place your focus. Where you place your focus can either help build you up, to get you to your blooming season or drag you so low that you never get to experience the beautiful season awaiting you.

Now what do you do in the season of pruning?