I’ve been out on sunny days when the temperature has been milder, pruning both my apple and pear trees and my grapes. I find it difficult to cut away branches, unlike my father who seemed almost ruthless when he worked on his plants. But I’m learning.

Dad had lots of good healthy fruit. That’s what I want too but it’s eluded me. I let so many branches grow that I had no grapes last year.

Sometimes God seems to do exactly what my dad did. And because His pruning hurts, we fight it and run from it. But, whatever God chooses to bring into our lives will ultimately be for our good, even though it may, at the time, appear to be ugly.

We can’t know what He is orchestrating. We’re missing the big picture. Sometimes it takes years to realize what He is doing. Sometimes it remains a mystery, but learning to trust a good heavenly Father is the best thing we can do and it will be worth it all.