Spring is coming

     It is this time of year that I think I'm most happy to live in southeastern Virginia, at least as far as the weather is concerned.  I spent a couple of hours yesterday cleaning up the yard and starting the process of getting ready for spring to fully arrive.  We cleaned up the twigs and remaining leaves that had fallen over the winter months and I got the first round of fertilizer on the yard.  I don't even like yard work that much, but it was really nice to be doing things that signal the onset of spring.
     I love springtime.  I can’t wait until the flowers begin to break through the cold ground for their first peeks at the warmth of new beginnings.  I love watching those little buds on the trees come into bloom.  I like watching the grass green up and make the lawns pretty again.
     Spring time is all about new beginnings.  I love that.  Most people talk about the New Year as their time for new beginnings.  I'm beginning to think that it would be better to use nature’s new beginning time.  The weather warms up, and even people seem happier.  Additionally, spring gives me a chance to get a break in my thinking and get some nice fresh air in my lungs.  I get cabin fever in the winter time.

     I think that the thing I like most about spring time is that it is time to begin to think about fruit.  All of that new growth means that fruit is on its way.  I know that the fruit doesn’t come right away...it needs the warmth of the sun and the spring rains to really get things going, but the fruit is definitely on its way.

     All of that will take preparation.  The best grapes come from well pruned vines.  The juiciest apples are the result of the most carefully maintained orchard.  Even the best tomatoes are picked from the best-tended gardens.  What is involved in the preparation?  Getting rid of the weeds, making sure the right nutrients are in the soil, just the right amount of moisture and sunshine.  All of those ingredients have to be included in the right proportions or the fruit won’t be what it should (or could) be. 

     So, how does that apply to us?  Well, we have the perfect gardener for the preparation of our lives for fruit bearing, right?  That’s what John 15 is all about.  Jesus is the vine and the Father is the gardener (verse 1).  As long as we stay intimately connected to the vine, God will do the necessary pruning and cultivating, and we will bear fruit.  If we are not connected to the vine, we won’t.  It’s as simple as that.

     If I can encourage you about anything as you move into this spring time, let it be to anticipate great blessings from the Lord as you give yourself wholly to the pruning and growth process.  It is the desire of our Father that we bear much fruit and thereby show that we are disciples of Jesus (John 15:8).  There’s nothing better than that.  I get to participate in the process of growth whereby I become more fruitful and God gets more glory. 

     That's the kind of yard work I can really feel good about.  Where are my pruning shears?