The Pruning

My Father is the Gardener the Bible tells me so

But how long must I look like this I’d really like to know

You see I was a withered branch grafted into the vine

And though my boughs were beautiful 

I was pruned by love Divine

My Father is the Gardener and really wants to see

More fruit of love upon this branch 

as His word has commanded me

So with the greatest thought and care 
He’s cut into His branch

He knows exactly what to prune 
and where to put His shears

Yes my Father is the Gardener who’s not looking at today

But glancing at the years to come and the fruit I’ll bear one day

When He prunes a branch He loves it will appear its dead

But my Father is the Gardener I do not need to dread

For when the winter is over and flowers come bursting forth

The season of singing will come 

and the pruning will show its worth

Where once it looked like death, new life will appear

The breath of God will again be seen 

like the morning mist so clear

The Bridegroom will come and call for 
His wind from the north and south, 
Come blow upon this garden and send its fragrance out

My Father is the Gardener who pruned you with love Divine

How delightful is your love now My sister and My bride!

The fragrance of your perfume better than any spice.

The perfume of your garment brings forth the aroma of life.

Yes, my Father is the Gardener I will surrender and will wait

For the winter to be over and death no more my state

My Father is the Gardener and through me wants to show

His splendor and His glory to those who do not know

You see I have been chosen to bear fruit that is Divine

For God has said it is by your love 

that they will know you’re Mine

This is why the pruning, this is why the pain,

For people to see My love for them is the reason that I came

Sharon Trumps

I don’t want my relationship with Jesus to be defined by the circumstances of my life. My life isn’t my circumstances, it is Him, and He is above all of the things I encounter or walk through in the day to day of my life. Have you ever felt like you were in a season encompassed by situations that were beyond your control that ended up lasting for much longer than you expected?  Then it seems, at least for me sometimes, that instead of your relationship with Christ being about His love for you and your love for Him the circumstances are like some big elephant that’s just there with you all the time even when your spending time with Him. 

The whole purpose of Him coming and His sacrifice was love, but the reality of that so easily gets lost in the winter seasons of life. Sometimes I have to remind myself that Jesus is in the winter season as much as in the spring, summer and fall. They are all necessary for the development and growth of fruit which is what He has appointed for us to bring forth. The funny thing is that the only way a branch can produce fruit is by just abiding in the vine and the only real way to abide is by surrendering.  When the branch has been pruned and looks so barren it is still just as much a part of the vine as it is when its boughs are full of wonderful sweet fruit that is not only seen but smelled.

Father, how easy it is to lose sight that you are the Gardener, the one doing the pruning and You love the branches just as much when they have been pruned and appear almost dead as You do when they are bearing fruit. At times I become so preoccupied with the state of being pruned I lose sight of you in the process. I am sorry. Your love for us has nothing to do with the circumstances of life being good or bad. It is easy to forget that sometimes, especially if we feel guilty for the pruning that is going on because we forget that we must be pruned in order to become more fruitful.