Pruning…and the aftermath
The branch was cracking near its the main trunk. I’m amazed it survived the last big wind.
It was reaching over the yard to the sidewalk almost a dozen feet away. It had borne several large crops of lemons over the last few seasons, but it was not healthy. It needed to go, so I busted out my cordless electric chain saw and went to work.
(We could talk about me getting the blade un-stuck from the undercut which I made too long. I am sure I looked ridiculous. Or we could talk about the other branch that was tangled with it and broke when the big guy came down…unexpected pruning required.. but that’s not the point here.)
While God is the master gardener, and His pruning cuts never go awry, that doesn’t mean that things aren’t ugly for a while after the process.
He knows exactly how much to cut, and how to bind up the wounds in the immediate to keep the them from getting infection. He also knows that more care will be needed afterwards.
In the case of the lemon tree, that means tree paint. Too much exposure to the sun blisters the bark. Where we live, lemons need to grow in their own shade. So I need to find my can of tree paint to preserve this tree that has provided for our needs (and those of many neighbors and friends…it’s a big tree!).
When I am exposed by the pruning of God’s hand, I need to be careful to stay close to Him and in His shade, or I may suffer damage and become weak and fruitless.
I am being pruned right now, and His discipline is not joyful but painful. But I am staying in HIs shade, because I know He will bring me through, and I will be more fruitful in the end. Hebrews says the fruit will be righteousness and peace. I crave both of those.
Following Jesus every day in the everyday,
Christi
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