When I first started gardening, the idea of pruning intimidated me. I wondered: How do you know where to prune? And, doesn’t it damage the bush or tree?
Now that I know how to do it, I’m amazed at how pruning works. It’s like directing the plant by saying, “Nope. You don’t need that branch. That’s a dead-end.” And the shrub or tree will then grow in a new way. Pruning doesn’t stop or limit growth because new growth is always happening.
God works in a similar way in our lives. He lovingly shows us how to avoid the dead-end roads so that we can avoid wasting energy going the wrong way. These dead-end roads consist of materiality such as a love of money, looking to material possessions for satisfaction, looking to another human being to “complete us,” looking to our bodies to report on how happy and healthy we are, and comparing ourselves with others to determine success. These are just a few examples, but there are many other dead-end roads.
