Being Cut Back

It was beautiful by afternoon today--blue sky, no wind and about 65 degrees.  After I  picked up the kids, I decided to go out and putter in the yard.  It got entirely neglected last summer and fall and the gophers have taken it over this winter.  I started by putting the last pile of leaves in the green waste can and  pulling some weeds.  Then I noticed something encouraging.  There were little buds all over my plum tree.  While that's a great thing, it's also a sign that I need to jump.  If it isn't sprayed with dormant spray before the blossoms and leaves open, then it can't be sprayed and it has horribly misshapen leaves for the whole year.  It's really ugly. 

Before spraying, I needed to prune.  It has gotten way too tall and I figure whatever I can't reach on the ladder has to go.  Well, I just can't prune a tree without thinking of  the parables of pruning the fig trees in the scriptures.  I don't know if  I'm that thoughtful on my own or if it is my dad coming through.  He loves to prune his orchard.  Anyway,  every time I cut back one of the trees, I think about God cutting us back to help us grow in the direction he wants us to and how painful it is. 

I personify the tree and imagine how disappointed he is when, every time he grows tall, I cut him back.  He's probably thinking how much more fruit he could produce if I just left him alone.  I'm sure he hates the way the spray feels on his branches and the smell he's left with long after I'm gone.  He doesn't realize I'm doing it so he won't have curly, ugly leaves all year and be besieged by bugs.  He probably only sees an awful creature leaving him bare and vulnerable.

Maybe that's the way some people see God.  Maybe that's why some people don't believe in him at all.  I like to remember in those times that I'm God's plum tree.  (Yes, I know I'm more than a tree to him--go with it.)  He loves me.  He doesn't like it when I'm reaching for the wrong things.  He likes me to stay focused on what's best for me and on how I can help those around me--the fruit, right?  He also gets excited and encouraged when he sees little buds on me.  I wish I could say my long cold winter was over and I was ready to bloom.  I don't feel that way, but it would be great if God could see the potential and wanted to do everything He could to make sure I have a happy spring and a great  harvest in the summer.