The Gardener

There are seasons in life when things shift… and we don’t always understand why. People move. Roles change. Spaces that once felt safe… start to feel uncertain.

Those seasons can leave you feeling something deeper than just confused. They can leave you feeling… less than.
Less valued.
Less seen.
Less important than you thought you were.
And that feeling has a way of settling in if you’re not careful.

Scripture gives us so many pictures of what God is doing in seasons like that—but sometimes those pictures feel a little different when you’re the one living inside of them.
 
Pruning, for instance, is a common scripture reference for this type of season. 


“He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit He prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.”
— John 15:2

It is a process talked about in scripture for personal sanctification. We usually read that and think of growth and becoming more. But pruning doesn’t feel like growth when you’re in it.
It feels like loss.
It feels like something being taken away.
It feels like being cut back when you thought you were flourishing. 

There’s also the reference to the wheat and chaff.

“His winnowing fork is in His hand… He will gather His wheat into the barn, but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire.”
— Matthew 3:12

It feels harsh.
It feels unforgiving.
It feels like being sifted, separated, refined. 

How quickly your heart can start to question, am I the part that’s being kept… or the part that’s being cast aside? If you’ve ever felt like you were the one being separated… it’s a hard place to sit and consider. But finding myself there recently, here’s where I had to pause and look a little deeper. 

In the story of Ruth, after the harvest, the edges of the field, the dropped grain, the overlooked pieces were intentionally left for the poor and the widows to gather.


“When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field… Leave them for the poor and the foreigner.”
— Leviticus 19:9–10




Ruth walks behind the harvesters… gathering what others passed over. What seemed like leftover, unnoticed, or discarded to people, God used to provide, to sustain, and to restore. This picture feels quieter than pruning or burning chaff, but still quite meaningful. 

God wastes nothing...
What falls.
What is left behind.
What feels overlooked.
In His hands… it has intentional purpose.

It's not a perfect analogy to being pruned... But maybe it's the part we need to hold onto. Sometimes, when we feel we are cut off or discarded, we may just need a perspective shift on which side of the blade we are on when the pruning is taking place. What feels like being removed, cut away… may actually just be being repositioned or repurposed for new growth. 

When you feel like the one being cut back… or sifted… or moved to the side… I don't want to dismiss the human emotions, but I do want to gently remind you of this:

You are not less valuable than God says you are.

You are not less seen than God says you are.

You are not less needed than God says you are.

And even if something has been lost…
it has not been wasted.

“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him…”
— Romans 8:28

All things.
Even the confusing ones.
Even the painful ones.
Even the ones we would have never chosen. 

If you feel like the wheat—gathered, steady, ready— then be nourishment. Show up. Feed the people around you who are hungry for truth and encouragement.

If you feel like the good grain that was forgotten and left behind, then seek out the poor and the needy and those who still see your purpose and value what you have to offer. 

If you feel like the one walking behind the harvesters… gathering what’s been left behind— don’t despise that place either.
God does some of His most personal, intentional work there. He sees you there. He provides there. He restores there.

If you feel like a vibrantly producing branch, then soften and humble yourself to be pruned and know that this is the way we remain fruitful. 

And if you feel like the cut back branch— raw, open, wounded... then anchor yourself to the Vine, be prepared to grow and position yourself in a way that others will benefit from your fruit... 
It's what's next!


The Lord has ordained an order of growth. If we remain in Him and are looking to mature, we must expect to go through these stages of growth. And in The Gardener's hands (John 15:1), we can trust the process. 


Where might a shift in perspective help you to recognize the stage of growth you are in right now? Where can you see purpose in this season? What might The Gardener need to prune in order for you to flourish?



Lord, when I feel overlooked, removed, or uncertain of my place, remind me that nothing in Your hands is wasted. Help me trust that You are always working with purpose, even when I don’t understand what is happening around me. Teach me to be faithful wherever You place me and at each stage of growth. Allow me to see Your hand at work in every season. Amen.


Until next time, keep following the Plott, and I will be praying for us all. 💛

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