Remaining on the Vine

Early on in my life, it was hard to imagine ever not being able to remain on the Vine, that is close to Jesus. Everything felt in balance. But as life changes, sometimes the balance gets knocked off track and it’s harder to remain on the vine. Marriage comes. Families grow. Careers change. Illness and trials surface. Life happens. We’ve all been there. We’re stretched and pulled constantly away from the Vine.

In the midst of a stressful time, which happens all too often these days, it’s harder to pray and engage in the usual service that I typically do. It feels like I’m remaining on the vine with a few threads instead of a close intertwined relationship with the Lord which I’d rather have. When this happens, there is usually an inevitable wake up call that forces me to rest more and come back to Jesus. 

I know I need to remain on the Vine by more than just a few threads of morning and evening prayers. I need to do more that helps me remain on the Vine – perhaps more silence, spiritual reading, and even a retreat. Then the question becomes: How? Where am I going to get the time to do that? 

I was listening to a podcast recently that challenged me to think about that question. Its research found that we actually have more time than ever before. But it’s different time – snippets of time. What are we doing with those snippets of time? Texting? Checking social media? Checking email? Think about all those wasted minutes! Could we replace these behaviors with behaviors and practices that help us remain on the Vine? Worth thinking about.

There’s another lesson for today. During this time, God has pruned some of the branches, removing or trimming back some people in my life, things I had been doing, and things needed to change both personally and professionally. God was doing me a favor. These needed to be pruned for the whole health of the Vine because there were definitely some dead branches.

I wasn’t living the abundant, energetic, and purposeful life that God had in mind for me. I was living the burnt out life of reacting to day to day stressors and living in survival mode of “getting through the day” to get to the next day. Make no mistake though - pruning can be temporarily painful, but in the long run leads to a healthier fruit.

Many of us are in this state as well. We’re exhausted people with health problems, stress, financial worries, and are not nearly as attached to the Vine as we need to be. Where is God trying to prune the Vine in your life for your overall health, well-being, and relationship with Him?

Remaining on the Vine and pruning the Vine… this is how God stays close to us, how we stay close to God, and how we grow and evolve into the whole and happy people He desires us to be.