Today I walked into a great salon in our former hometown and made myself comfortable in the chair of my favorite stylist. Kim has magic fingers. On the visits when I just get a haircut, she treats me to a delectable, peppermint-infused scalp massage. If only McDonald's included that on their Dollar Menu. Sigh. Then, I would surely be as addicted to scalp massages as I am to their large sweet tea. :)
Kim is a former junior high chorus student. She and her family went to church with our family for those all-important teenage years, and Kim was/is a good friend of my daughter Laura. She is highly-skilled in what she does, and I trust her implicitly. Plus, there's always the added benefit of getting caught up on news from her family and sharing the happenings of ours.
Early this morning I walked in looking droopy and unkempt. An hour later I walked out with my head held high, eager to face the day. What made the difference? Kim had used her training and instincts to cut away what was unruly and unnecessary in my hair. The hair that remained was healthier and in a better condition to grow and be styled in the five or six weeks before another haircut will be needed.
When I drove back in the driveway at home, I noticed the new crepe myrtles that we planted a few months ago and saw that they, too, would soon need to be trimmed . . . or PRUNED. Ahhhhh. My lesson/reminder from God for today. Pruning/trimming/cutting away the "bad" is a good thing. That process makes a tree or a vine or a hairstyle BETTER and stronger than it would be if it were to be left untended. I went straight in the back door and turned in my Bible to John 15:1-5. Here it is:
(Jesus said) "I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away, and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that I may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit, for without Me you can do nothing."
I know that when the weather gets cooler those crepe myrtles will need to be trimmed. Those trees don't get to decide. We do. And I already have my next appointment for another haircut. A choice I made happily and expectantly. The deeper question for me today is what kind of pruning needs to be done in my spiritual life so that I can produce the maximum amount of fruit for the Kingdom of God? Am I willing to submit myself to God's pruning, even if it is painful? Am I consciously and deliberately "abiding in Him and allowing Him to abide in me?" That's what I'm pondering right now. What about you?
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