pruning vines.

The Vine and the Branches (John 15)
"Jesus said, '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, as I also 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 you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.'"


It's been a little while since I've thought about this passage, but today, I got the cool opportunity to experience this firsthand, and it immediately came to mind. :) After lunch today, Jon and I went to help Frank with his chores (out of boredom). We got to go play with the pigs for a bit and feed them peanuts, and then I went with Frank to go trim the vineyard. As I clipped off the tops of the vines, I thought of John 15 and how it really is crucial to our spiritual health to stay rooted and abiding in the true vine, Jesus. Without Him, I can't bear a single fragment of fruit. It also reminded me of discipline and the beauty of being pruned and molded for my sanctification and for the glory of God. Every time I go through a trial, it is God pruning me, cutting off the bad and unnecessary parts of my life (though I may try to hold tight onto them) so that I can bear even more fruit for Him. Praise God :)

I also got to eat a fresh duck egg for dinner (!), thanks to Frank, hehe :) Since then, it's been a pretty chill night, since our last day of class is tomorrow...insanity. The rain has started outside, so we're all just hanging out in the croft, belting Disney and Queen at the tops of our voices. I played my first chess game in probably over a decade (and beat Jon!), so that was fun. I'm going to miss chilling with these funny people.