Revenge of the Prunes

Don't worry, its not what you think.

Those who know me know I love prunes. Nothin strange about that, I am just a regular prune lovin guy.

On the OTHER hand...

The theme of pruning has come up 4 times this last while.

"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. You are already
clean because of the word I have spoken to you.
Remain in me and I will remain in you. No branch
can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine.
Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains
in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit;
apart from me you can do nothing!"
John 15: 1-5

I read this about 10 days ago and it struck me. Stuck out to me.
Then a day later, during a prayer meeting for the consultant team at McLaurin, I thought of it and prayed it, the pruning part, at the meeting.
A day later, the consultants themselves mentioned the verse on pruning and said that the branches that are being pruned are not dead branches, butrather they are last years good fruit.
This was new information to me and it was so great to hear that, because last year was beyond a shadow of a doubt the best year of my life. This year? This year has felt like the worst.
And now a week later, someone asked me how I was, and I said I was exhausted. Just plain exhausted, and that spiritually, emotionally, and physically, I had run out about a month ago. Right out. They prayed for me and the one man got a very clear picture of this verse and some pruning.

So I am being pruned, in order that I might bear more fruit.

Thank you LORD, that you do these things because I am useless without you, and cannot bear any fruit worth eating on my own.