Love this so much. Being pruned is PAINFUL. The passage you quoted goes on to the hope that follows pruning: “Abide in me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in me” (John 15:4 New American Standard Version). Abiding is a beautiful word, isn’t it? It’s what you’re doing when you milk the cow and prepare for planting. You get to participate in new growth and sustaining life. Old growth gets torn away, making room for new and healthier growth. :)
Thank you, Stephanie. That's a lovely interpretation. All things abide, including the earth itself. Another thing I like to remind myself as a gardener is that both decay and excrement are necessary to feed new growth.
I am so happy that you wrote this post. We have a military member in our immediate family too. I will continue to pray for Zander and all who are serving. The verse you refer to is a favorite of mine that I read whenever I must accept losses and life changes. Pruning sounds harsh but God means it for good. Always.
Thank you, Janet. Would you like me to pray for your military member? If so, please let me know his or her name. How wonderful to hear that verse had already held meaning for you.
Pruning is good! Especially when you can weed out the negativity, bitterness and animosity, replacing it with supportive comments and people. It helps you focus on what’s really important in life. And allows you to encourage new growth. In plants, trees, animals, and family.
Yes, and I find that looking ahead at fewer years than I have behind me makes that even more important and clear as a path forward. Interesting that in the garden, I rather enjoy pruning as a maintenance activity. Perhaps I should keep that in mind!
Thank your son for his service, and we wish him a safe tour. Aircraft carriers are very well protected, but he is still working really hard in a hazardous environment. Please keep us posted.
Around here we treat individual ash trees with insecticide, and it is generally successful if you catch it early enough. If you’re willing to use chemicals, and the tree is important, it might be worth trying.
And we would love to see a picture of the cow, or better yet of you milking the cow, with your farmer buddy’s permission of course.
Thank you, Phil. I will let him know that. When Zander was able to dash off an email, he told us he is in the safest place in the Middle East. He's a good boy who knows how to allay his parents' fears, but there's also truth in what he says. I'm glad to know you agree, but yes, I think he's facing his greatest challenge of all right now.
On the ash, I checked with both an arborist and our agricultural extension, and between the EAB infestation stage and the fact the tree was planted too shallowly, with many exposed roots, the consensus is to remove. It's a small front yard, and the tree could easily send large, diseased limbs onto the roof. We get a lot of wind storms here, across vast farm fields that were once prairie. I wish it were otherwise.
If my friend invites farm selfies, I'll fulfill that ask!
Cutting my lovely crepe myrtles to the ground a few weeks ago after Winter Storm Fern bent them over was painful, but new shoots will come up soon and they do grow rather quickly.
My mother in law tied yellow ribbons everywhere when my husband was deployed during Desert Storm, but the political climate was not as chaotic then and the troops were well supported by the public. I’m glad you’ve carried on with the tradition.
Seasons of pruning are painful. Lord with us abide…..
You're right; crepe myrtles are hardy; I hope you get a lovely replacement.
It's funny you bring up the yellow ribbons from Desert Storm. I did not support that war, but back then we made a distinction between objecting to a war and offering support for service men and women. It seems we've lost that now... I think also that decades of forever wars have inured most people to war in general.
Thanks for your message, and yes, the pain is palpable after the cut.
Thank you for this beautiful, heart filled letter. Isn’t it interesting how “a violence” often brings about something wonderful which would not have entered our lives if pruning hadn’t taken place? This letter has blessed me - may the blessings return to you a hundred fold. ❤️
Love this so much. Being pruned is PAINFUL. The passage you quoted goes on to the hope that follows pruning: “Abide in me and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in me” (John 15:4 New American Standard Version). Abiding is a beautiful word, isn’t it? It’s what you’re doing when you milk the cow and prepare for planting. You get to participate in new growth and sustaining life. Old growth gets torn away, making room for new and healthier growth. :)
Thank you, Stephanie. That's a lovely interpretation. All things abide, including the earth itself. Another thing I like to remind myself as a gardener is that both decay and excrement are necessary to feed new growth.
Sometimes life is overloaded with excrement for us to grow through. :)
HA, HA: SERIOUSLY TRUE.
I am so happy that you wrote this post. We have a military member in our immediate family too. I will continue to pray for Zander and all who are serving. The verse you refer to is a favorite of mine that I read whenever I must accept losses and life changes. Pruning sounds harsh but God means it for good. Always.
Thank you, Janet. Would you like me to pray for your military member? If so, please let me know his or her name. How wonderful to hear that verse had already held meaning for you.
I sent a private message Thank you
Pruning is good! Especially when you can weed out the negativity, bitterness and animosity, replacing it with supportive comments and people. It helps you focus on what’s really important in life. And allows you to encourage new growth. In plants, trees, animals, and family.
Yes, and I find that looking ahead at fewer years than I have behind me makes that even more important and clear as a path forward. Interesting that in the garden, I rather enjoy pruning as a maintenance activity. Perhaps I should keep that in mind!
I'm keeping my fingers crossed for that asparagus!
I go out there and root for it. We'll see...
Thank your son for his service, and we wish him a safe tour. Aircraft carriers are very well protected, but he is still working really hard in a hazardous environment. Please keep us posted.
Around here we treat individual ash trees with insecticide, and it is generally successful if you catch it early enough. If you’re willing to use chemicals, and the tree is important, it might be worth trying.
And we would love to see a picture of the cow, or better yet of you milking the cow, with your farmer buddy’s permission of course.
Thank you, Phil. I will let him know that. When Zander was able to dash off an email, he told us he is in the safest place in the Middle East. He's a good boy who knows how to allay his parents' fears, but there's also truth in what he says. I'm glad to know you agree, but yes, I think he's facing his greatest challenge of all right now.
On the ash, I checked with both an arborist and our agricultural extension, and between the EAB infestation stage and the fact the tree was planted too shallowly, with many exposed roots, the consensus is to remove. It's a small front yard, and the tree could easily send large, diseased limbs onto the roof. We get a lot of wind storms here, across vast farm fields that were once prairie. I wish it were otherwise.
If my friend invites farm selfies, I'll fulfill that ask!
Too bad about the tree. They are good firewood at least…
Cutting my lovely crepe myrtles to the ground a few weeks ago after Winter Storm Fern bent them over was painful, but new shoots will come up soon and they do grow rather quickly.
My mother in law tied yellow ribbons everywhere when my husband was deployed during Desert Storm, but the political climate was not as chaotic then and the troops were well supported by the public. I’m glad you’ve carried on with the tradition.
Seasons of pruning are painful. Lord with us abide…..
You're right; crepe myrtles are hardy; I hope you get a lovely replacement.
It's funny you bring up the yellow ribbons from Desert Storm. I did not support that war, but back then we made a distinction between objecting to a war and offering support for service men and women. It seems we've lost that now... I think also that decades of forever wars have inured most people to war in general.
Thanks for your message, and yes, the pain is palpable after the cut.
Thank you for this beautiful, heart filled letter. Isn’t it interesting how “a violence” often brings about something wonderful which would not have entered our lives if pruning hadn’t taken place? This letter has blessed me - may the blessings return to you a hundred fold. ❤️
You’re very welcome ☺️. I’m so grateful this essay landed well with you, and thank you for taking the time to let me know.