We have a tree in our front yard that hasn’t been tended to in awhile. Over time, ivy from our neighbor’s yard grew all over the tree and it choked out all the leaves and branches.
While I love the look of ivy (and especially the way it changes into bright red in the Fall) I knew that this tree needed a little love. So our tree trimmers cut back all the ivy and removed it from this tree.
At first, it looked completely bare. Kind of eery and almost like it was dead — lifeless. But over the coming weeks, I’ve slowly watched little green shoots start to form…and then leaves…and now, it has turned into this beautiful life-filled tree with tons of new growth.
All it needed was a little pruning, a little cutting back of all the stuff that was holding it back and keeping it from growing.
When Pastor Jason talked about prayer this Sunday, I tried to think back to what prayer used to be for me. Like he mentioned, it was a way for me to “get” things from God. A time where I could go through my checklist of requests. Often, I would pray only at bedtime and fall asleep a few minutes in!
But something changed a few years ago. I can’t quite pinpoint the day or time but I look at my prayer life now, and things are significantly different. I talk to Jesus all throughout the day. I let Him know what I’m afraid of and I ask Him what He desires out of a particular situation. Sometimes my prayers are just listening - something I never did before.
So I had to wonder…when did this happen? How did this happen?
And then I thought about the tree. Just as this tree needed the ivy to be cut back in order to make room to grow, I had to do the same thing. God was ruthless in pruning my thought life, my relationships, my entertainment choices, my time and everything in between. Often, the pruning came through trials. Where I had no other choice but to hold His hand and weep as things were stripped away and let go.
There was also a time where I felt like that tree just after it had been pruned - I felt a little empty. Like I had lost things, I wasn’t who I used to be. My surface relationships were ending and I didn’t know who I would be close with anymore. There was now a void that only God could fill.
Now that I look back, I see the full, beautiful leaves that have grown in my life. I see the fruit! And it’s nothing short of miraculous that God does this in us.
So can I encourage you that if you are in that barren season - where God has stripped away things that were once held so tightly - that He is now doing a new thing.
“Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” Isaiah 43:19 (ESV)
During the pruning, in that empty space, don’t forget to talk to Him. Ask Him what He is up to. What is He doing? Where does He want you to shift your gaze?
Let us always remember, even in the pruning, that it is ALL for our good. It is ALL still in His hands, and it is ALL going to be alright, because our Savior has a plan.
While I love the look of ivy (and especially the way it changes into bright red in the Fall) I knew that this tree needed a little love. So our tree trimmers cut back all the ivy and removed it from this tree.
At first, it looked completely bare. Kind of eery and almost like it was dead — lifeless. But over the coming weeks, I’ve slowly watched little green shoots start to form…and then leaves…and now, it has turned into this beautiful life-filled tree with tons of new growth.
All it needed was a little pruning, a little cutting back of all the stuff that was holding it back and keeping it from growing.
When Pastor Jason talked about prayer this Sunday, I tried to think back to what prayer used to be for me. Like he mentioned, it was a way for me to “get” things from God. A time where I could go through my checklist of requests. Often, I would pray only at bedtime and fall asleep a few minutes in!
But something changed a few years ago. I can’t quite pinpoint the day or time but I look at my prayer life now, and things are significantly different. I talk to Jesus all throughout the day. I let Him know what I’m afraid of and I ask Him what He desires out of a particular situation. Sometimes my prayers are just listening - something I never did before.
So I had to wonder…when did this happen? How did this happen?
And then I thought about the tree. Just as this tree needed the ivy to be cut back in order to make room to grow, I had to do the same thing. God was ruthless in pruning my thought life, my relationships, my entertainment choices, my time and everything in between. Often, the pruning came through trials. Where I had no other choice but to hold His hand and weep as things were stripped away and let go.
There was also a time where I felt like that tree just after it had been pruned - I felt a little empty. Like I had lost things, I wasn’t who I used to be. My surface relationships were ending and I didn’t know who I would be close with anymore. There was now a void that only God could fill.
Now that I look back, I see the full, beautiful leaves that have grown in my life. I see the fruit! And it’s nothing short of miraculous that God does this in us.
So can I encourage you that if you are in that barren season - where God has stripped away things that were once held so tightly - that He is now doing a new thing.
“Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.” Isaiah 43:19 (ESV)
During the pruning, in that empty space, don’t forget to talk to Him. Ask Him what He is up to. What is He doing? Where does He want you to shift your gaze?
Let us always remember, even in the pruning, that it is ALL for our good. It is ALL still in His hands, and it is ALL going to be alright, because our Savior has a plan.
Erika Pizzo
Erika is an author of various books on the topics of faith, mental health, and victory in Christ. Erika lives with her husband, daughter, son, and their fluffy poodle in sunny Southern California. Her two favorite things are a visit to the beach and a chai latte in hand.