Invite God to Remove What Doesn't Reflect Him Here's something that might reframe how you think about the hard seasons: sometimes what feels like loss is actually pruning. Jesus says in John 15:2 that the Father cuts off branches that don't produce fruit, and prunes the ones that do — so they can produce even more. A skilled gardener doesn't prune a vine to punish it. He prunes it because he knows what it's capable of, and he's clearing the way for it to get there. The same is true of God's work in us. The relationships that ended. The job that didn't work out. The version of yourself you've had to let go of. Not all of it is punishment — some of it is preparation. And our role isn't to fight the pruning. It's to stay close enough to the vine that we trust the gardener's hands.