During this Thanksgiving break, I spent one morning pruning my grape and boysenberry vine. This season was the first year for my grape vine to produce grapes (2nd year total), and my boysenberry vine did not yield any fruit, but grew like crazy.
This small plot of dirt on the side of our house has become both a sanctuary and a metaphor for life. It's therapeutically refreshed my soul to tend the vines, and provided constant reminders and metaphors for ministry and life.
Before tending the vine and weeding the surrounding area, I took this picture:
It's only been a couple months since I last tended, but I was surprised by how many weeds and stray shoots and branches there were. It took me more than 3 hours to get this small space to look like this:
The weeding on the ground is noticeable, but the most important part of pruning is seeing that the two main shoots are ready for the winter, and that
no other shoots are left to compete with them for nutrients. There were many things I thought about as I pruned, but here are a few of my thoughts: I'm amazed at how much excess can accumulate in such a short amount of time. Personally, I'm often surprised by how much junk is in my life, even after processing or sharing significant things in my life with others. I notice that I think of dealing with sin and junk in my life as an event, not a process. I tend to wait until the leaves and weeds are everywhere before doing anything about them. I'm not a persistent pruner--I'm a procrastinative pruner.
I'm also struck by how many secondary shoots there were and how much they took away from the main shoots--both visually and nutritionally. Visually, they make the vine look bigger and more significant than it really is, and nutritionally the steal nutrients from the main shoots, making them weaker. Since the Fall I have been convicted about how often I tend these secondary vines to the neglect and detriment of my primary vines. A phrase that the Lord has given me this year is 'tend your garden.' I can get caught up in performing and achieving to please people and prove my worth, which just like these secondary vines steal nutrients from my primary vines (my gifts and abilities and primary calling) and make me look bigger than I really am.
I'm thankful for a visual representation of life--those are few and far between.
