As I was driving through my neighborhood this week, I noticed that the Crepe Myrtle trees, that had been trimmed back for the winter, or as I have heard it called, “Crepe Murder,” are blooming again. They are coming back stronger and healthier than ever.
Almost everything benefits from pruning: waistlines, fingernails, facial hair, relationships, as well as trees and shrubs.
Trees and shrubs that go years without pruning can become overgrown and weak. In the same way, we can become weak and ineffective when we are not allowing our lives to be pruned.
Here’s what I mean by pruning. We pick up habits, attitudes and mindsets each and every day. These “patterns” are usually determined by the people that we are hanging out with. Most of the time we don’t even know it. Oftentimes, we try to change our “patterns” without changing our environment. We usually fail.
The benefits of pruning:
- Pruning removes dead or diseased branches.
Some of you need to remove the dead or diseased relationships that are holding you back.
- Pruning trees and shrubs promotes growth of other plants.
When you cut loose the dead branches (relationships) you allow other relationships to flourish in your life. Healthier ones.
- Pruning can sometimes bring plants back to life.
You may feel “dead” right now. You may feel like you have no drive, ambition or purpose. Take some inventory and start the pruning process.
The word of the day is prune.
John 15:2 “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.”
Prune the unhealthy relationships in your life and make your life better.