Pruning the Grape Vines -- a Brutiful Experience....

I spent a little time with 'Ed' the Gardening Guru/Owner of Starview Nursery just N.E. of LaGrange, KY and he told me how to prune the grapevines and encouraged me to be 'brutal'when deciding what to cut and what to leave. He said the #1 problem most people have is that they are not 'brutal' enough in their pruning. Ed assured me that the crop of grapes would justify the brutal pruning.

So, I took him at his word and got brutal with willy nilly vines that didn't fit the trellis plan I have in mind and I got serious about removing would be vines that would pull nutrients away from the main vine.

My objective is simple -- an abundant juicy harvest of fantastic home grown grapes this September! The process seemed a bit painful to me, but that's why I have grape vines.

It's not about the grapes at all -- they serve as a 'spiritual practice' where I consider God's concern for me and for the production of fruit in my life. It reminds me that at time God has to be 'brutal' with all of us to remove what won't yield the fruit He's designed us for. When I'm working with the vines I'm mindful of Jesus teaching his disciples about the necessity of pruning for fruit production in John 15. He assured his vineyard onlookers that God's intention is to have us bear much fruit, which is to the Father's glory.

I heard a speaker share one time that God's work with us 'brutal & beautiful' at the same time and he called it 'brutiful'.

If you're in a season where you feel as though you're being pruned brutally, then you're not alone and God's intent for you is that you bear much fruit -- and, it requires a 'brutiful' pruning every now and then. Look forward to what He is helping you become and the outcomes that the vinedresser has in mind!

Happy Pruning!

Jeff Fuson

-Point Leader of Phos Church near Louisville Kentucky
-Leadership Keynote Speaker
-Husband / Daddy
-Missional Church Planter