” I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing”

My grandmother was a diabetic who was also taking insulin. I was currently working with a home health agency where I helped arrange it for my agency to provide home health care. The older she got, the more I could see her dwindling. It was hard to see her that way as she was always so vibrant and full of energy. I was very concerned that she was not taking care of herself as she should.

The one thing about diabetics is that if they get any sores, cuts, or blisters, they are always harder to heal. If not taken care of, it can cause it to get infected and eventually form gangrene. My grandmother ended up with a cut on her foot that got infected and started to turn into gangrene in her toes. To keep it from spreading to the rest of her body, they wanted to amputate her toes. Of course, she did not like that, but we talked her into having it done.

My grandmother was a trooper and did not allow a cast to keep her from doing what she needed to do. I remember her getting to the point where she was walking without much assistance. She was a short little petite something and would have to look up to me, but she would always remind you who that she was the boss.

Eventually, the infection came back, and the gangrene spread to her leg. There was talk about her leg getting amputated. She was not in agreement with having her leg amputated. She could not bear them taking that from her. There was no talking her out of it. She was very prideful when it came to certain things. Unfortunately, my grandmother passed away due to other complications. Though I miss her dearly, I am glad she is at peace and is no longer is suffering.

Every season requires pruning

I remember last year when I was pruning one of the bushes in my front yard. The plant was not dying at all. It was beautiful and healthy, but it was getting too big and looking a little wild. So, I needed to prune it back some.

Have you ever wondered why things have happened in your life? Why it seems like there are some people, circumstances, or situations that were so abruptly? You never saw them leaving, you never saw it coming, and you never thought it would happen the way that it did.

Just like with my grandmother and how the doctors were trying to prevent the infection from spreading, there are times where certain things are not bringing forth fruit in our lives God must cut those pieces out. God’s intent is not to hurt or harm us but so that we will be able to produce good fruit.

“And we know that all things work together for good of them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose” Romans 8:28

The older I become, the more I realize that there were people and things that I connected to that caused me to produce some unhealthy fruit in my life, and to prevent it from spreading and causing more damage, God had to remove it. In my disobedience, immaturity, and toxicity caused me to mismanage, mishandled my relationships, and situations that could have been prevented or handled differently. I put people in the place where only God should have been. I can not do anything and be fruitful apart from God.

I am grateful for God’s continual love for me and that he never lets me get too far from his plan for my life. Anything that God does or allows is not to hurt or harm us but does so as apart of our making. The pruning may be hard at the moment, but it will be the very thing that will cause us to grow in the long run if we allow God to continue to work on us and through us.

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