It’s Sunday morning and the faithful have gathered. It looks like the change to daylight savings time has reduced the numbers in this service. With three services at Hometown Friends Church, people who usually come to this 9:45 service have the 11:15 option if they want to get a little more sleep.

The scripture today is John 15 where Jesus said: “I am the vine; you are the branches.” Jesus says that God is the gardener and that he cuts off branches that don’t bear fruit and that he prunes branches that produce fruit so they will produce more fruit.

I did some pruning yesterday on a couple of Japanese maples. There are places I want to discourage growth and other places where I want to encourage it. As I cut off some young growth, I knew the tree would appropriate energy that would have gone there to other places I want to see flourish.

I don’t have a picture of how God is pruning me. I don’t see the clippers, the trimmings being carried to the yard debris container, or the places where it’s obvious that something has been cut. I hope it’s happening in ways I’m not recognizing.