Necessary Pausings & Prunings to Grow Fruitful Branches
Feb 17, 2025
I have always loved nature—especially trees and butterflies—as powerful metaphors for the human journey of growth and transformation. Nature reveals God’s nature and His incredible, mysterious design. Even when I don’t understand the “whys” (and likely never will), what I can see enables me to trust His processes—even when they are painful. His timing is always perfect.
Being planted requires the seed to be buried, the hull to break open, and the inner parts to spill out in order to grow. Stretching and growing demands that tender roots dig deep through the muck while simultaneously pushing upward to break through the hard ground above - breaking imposed ceilings. This pressing on all sides strengthens foundations, ensuring stability.
And yet, after all the hard work and breakthroughs, storms will still come. These storms twist, turn, and naturally prune the tree, shaping and strengthening it. The pruning never ends. But there is hope in continual growth, in learning to embrace the ebb and flow, and in realizing that we are not meant to struggle alone. Through it all, we gain the strength to bear the weight of healthy branches that will yield greater and greater good fruit... if we are willing to BE long suffering rather than looking for quick - but short lived - fixes.
Change is necessary. What worked before won’t always get us where we are going. But timing matters, too. Transplanting too soon or too late can be detrimental. Wisdom and discernment are key. Still, no matter what season we are in, we must never neglect the basics: rich nutrients (often from the “muck” of life), water, and sunlight are always essential.
This morning, I awoke with these reminders:
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“Practice what you teach.”
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“Practice the pause.”
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“Practice makes progress.”
I was also reminded of my words for 2025: Undistracted & Small Beginnings, and my verse of the year:
Isaiah 26:3 You keep him/her in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You, because he/she trusts in You.
Loss has a way of forcing us to re-examine our priorities. Even when it involves a stranger, like on Valentine’s Day when a motorcyclist died in my arms, grief stirs something within us. If we don’t suppress it, we find ourselves reflecting on what truly matters.
Even God’s calling can become destructive when misused or neglected. Overcommitment, stress, and a relentless focus on goals can lead us to run full speed ahead, unknowingly bulldozing relationships in the process. A divinely driven life is not meant to be lived in constant burnout.
When asked about signs of trauma, people expect me to list physical and mental symptoms. But often, trauma manifests in ways we don’t expect. It can be hidden behind traits we culturally admire:
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Perfectionism
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Drive and ambition
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Hyper-focus and relentless determination
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High energy and influence
While these traits are often praised, they can also signal deeper struggles. Our culture glorifies the hustle and grind. We respond to “How are you?” with “I’m busy… I’m tired… I’m exhausted,” but these aren’t emotions. They are warning signs.
We shy away from anything that might make us seem lazy or unreliable. Saying “No” feels like a failure. Admitting, “I need help,” or “I need rest,” feels uncomfortable. Taking an actual vacation—one without work interruptions—is rare.
So here I am, processing and pruning again. Doing it scared—scared of losing momentum, followers, and investments. But trusting my gut over my head. Trusting God’s timing over my own.
There is a season for everything under the Son. But not everything needs to happen in one season.. and some seasons are just longer than others. Sometimes because of our own choices, and sometimes just because of the fallen, lost, loud, and traumatizing world we live in.
Today, I choose to focus on re-prioritizing the things that:
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Need restructuring—because branches cannot grow without the strong foundations of the roots and trunk first.
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Have lasting impact rather than just creating extra work.
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Bring peace to my spirit, mind, body, and relationships.
And I choose to prune the things that:
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Drain my energy without meaningful, impactful returns.
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Keep me too busy and discontent to appreciate what I already have.
Today, I choose my hard. And I choose to trust the necessary pausing to reassess and the pride-pruning process.
#wildhavenwarrior
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#healerfirsthealingsecond
#healthylifestyle
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#NutritionMatters
#nutritionisnotjustthefoodweeat
#yogafaith
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#wildones
#soultosole
#ashestobeauty
#soulcare
