I had a climbing rose bush that I loved. It had grown straggly and lanky, and when my dad made an unexpected visit, I asked him to trim it back a little. Later when he asked me to inspect his work, I almost cried. He had chopped it so severely that only a few stubs remained. I was sure it would die. It looked awful, and I mourned it for weeks.


Sometimes the Lord makes painful cuts in our lives, taking away people we love or removing opportunities we were fond of. Have you ever mourned those types of loss and cried out to Him, “Why God?” Often we have to wait a season or two to find out why. In those dark waiting times, God draws near and teaches us to depend only on Him, not on other people.
And when the time of mourning is past, we can see that it was for the best.


Through God’s pruning in our lives and hearts, He draws us closer, blessing us with deeper appreciation of His ways and His love.


My rose bush? As you probably suspected, the next year it was covered with more blossoms than ever before!