Above my desk in my office, there is a large window. It provides me with a beautiful view of God’s creative hand, no matter the season. In that view are many different types of trees, but my favourite has always been the large oak which spread it’s large branches across our driveway and right in front of that window. It gave me a front row view of the unique beauty of each season. Birds came and sat on it’s branches, singing, preening, sharing the view and declaring the glory of God by their presence. Those branches brought me much joy!

Last summer, it became apparent to my husband and I that, we needed to have some of our trees elevated and cleaned up of dead branches. So we got some quotes and hired a tree cutting company to come in and do the job. My husband was outside overseeing the process and I was busy indoors.

At one point my husband came in and asked me to come out and see if there were any other branches I wanted removed. As I stepped out our front door, I stopped dead in my tracks. There on the ground were the large limbs that had given me so much pleasure!

“Noooo!!”, I cried out loud. “What have they done to my tree?”

I ran upstairs to look out my office window and my heart sank. I wanted to cry. The view was ruined! No more would I be able to share it with my feathered friends. No more would I have an up close view of the process of change. It would never be the same. I was heartbroken.

“They had to go.”, my husband gently told me. “They were a danger to cars parked underneath and the leaves clogged the drain. We discussed this.”

He was right of course. I just hadn’t realized it would be those branches, my branches,the ones I loved!

Over the next few days, I sat and mourned the loss of my favourite view. However, as the days passed, I realized I had a different view. Trees that were more distant could be seen now, our large red maple was more visible and the sky seemed larger. It has brought new joy to me in different ways.

You see Sisters, sometimes, things need to be removed from our life, cut out, in order that we can get a new view, a different view, so we can see things we are missing or ignoring. It is easy to get stuck where we are, what we are comfortable with, what we love. But the Lord doesn’t want us to be stuck and stagnant. He wants us to grow, change, become more than we presently are, more like Him.

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit He prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.”

John 15:1-2 NIV

Some things need to go Sister, even when they are a good thing because it takes our focus from the Lord or is keeping us from a work He wants us to do. Or perhaps it is a good thing but it is not good for me even though I want it. It may be that it is a bad thing, and I can’t see that or I can and want it anyway. The Lord doesn’t just want what’s good enough for us but what’s best for us, because He loves us too much to do anything less, He loves us so much He is willing to cause us momentary pain and heartache so that we can become so much more than we can imagine.

Because He is a good Father.

So if you are going through a time of cutting off or just pruning, remember it is done out of love. It is painful, sometimes extremely so, and you may wonder why God would allow it. You may question if God really loves you, if you are still His child and begin to think He is done with you, has forsaken or rejected you. Don’t listen to those lies, Sister!! God is up to something that’s true but it is something good and something good for you!

Our God, longs to give us new eyes so that,

“your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which He has called you”

Ephesians 1:18 NIV

Hold on to that hope! Don’t let go! There is a new view being prepared for you, a glorious one! Because we ARE loved and held by the power of His nail scarred, righteous right hand.

Be well!

Patricia