05.06.2026 | Wednesday in Eastertide

The Mystery of Pruning
 
Gardening is about adapting. Gardening is about changing things when needed. Sometimes a plant needs to be moved. Some plants need to be cut back to the ground in order to flourish. It can be painful to do because the plant looks, well, sad. And to be honest, it can be difficult for this old man to do the necessary pruning. But in the end, the plant gets better. Not simply the same, but bigger, stronger, and more bountiful than ever.
 
“He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit, he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.” (John 15:2)
 
The Creator of all things does for us what we do for our gardens. Pruning is difficult. Pruning sometimes hurts. Pruning is scary. Pruning is waiting for the healing. Pruning is doing the work of recovery. Pruning is becoming even more fruitful.
 
Not simply the same, better.
 
When we know it is time for some pruning, it may come as a surgery we hoped to avoid, or bad news that arrives out of nowhere. A sudden death of a loved one. Unexpected. Scary. Difficult. The pruning begins. It hurts. We suffer. Then, sometimes slowly, the healing begins. The work of recovery starts. We begin to heal. We begin to be fruitful once again. Not simply the same, but better. Stronger.
 
May you be tended by grace in every season of your becoming.

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​May the Holy Gardener
stand close beside you today,
steadying your heart
as the cutting-back begins.
 
May the quiet wisdom of the garden
teach you to trust
what you cannot yet see.
 
May new strength rise in you
like green shoots after rain,
and may you find yourself, in time,
not simply the same,
but better.