Pruning Time

Photo taken by Yotoen and shared via Flickr Creative Commons. See it here.

“Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit, He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit, He prunes it so that it may bear more fruit.” —John 15:2

Last week I finally took to pruning the Peace Lilie’s I had on my porch. The large one was delivered to me last January from the Premier Designs’ prayer team after my ankle fusion surgery (thanks Mike Glenn). 🙂 I received a smaller one a few days before my surgery at our housewarming party. It was a gift from Christian humorist and author Deb Coty. Needless to say, after over a year or neglect (hey, I watered them when their leaves drooped), I finally decided to prune them.

There was a problem though . . . I didn’t know the first thing about pruning something! Mom had a green thumb and I, well, I guess you could say I have a black thumb and it’s not from being in plant soil! There were 39 text messages between mom and I regarding pruning the lilies as well as my Gerber daisy (I was feeling brave). I included many pictures to ensure I was doing it properly. The conversation went something like this:

Me: Question: how far down do I cut the Peace Lily?

Mom: Each old leaf down to the base.

(I sent her pics from the gun range earlier)

Mom: What happened to the Peace Lily?

Me: Nothing. I’m pruning it.

When you don’t have pruning shears, kitchen scissors will work. Kind of.

Mom: Have fun! Remember you can’t hurt it.

Me: I feel like I’m killing it! LOL!

Mom: It will look great in no time.

It took a lot more time than I had anticipated, and my back was hurting quite a bit. Truth is, it was painful for the both of us, but the end result was amazing. It probably took me an hour or so, and I kept thinking how much less work it would have been had I stayed on top of it from the beginning . . .

It was a fresh start for the plants. I felt a little lighter as well. There is something about the process of pruning that excites me. As with uprooting, it’s the process of getting rid of the old to make way for the new. It’s clearing out the dead so that the living can thrive. Isn’t that what Jesus instructs us to do? Change can be good, though sometimes painful. In the moment of pruning it’s difficult to see the buds that it will produce but when they bloom, we remember.

Is there some pruning you need to do in your life? Spring is among us! 🙂

Someone found a use for the trimmed leaves.

This little guy was hiding in here the whole time I was pruning it (including carrying it through the house).