It’s that time of the year again when the grass starts growing, flowers start blooming, people start sneezing. It’s also a time when a lot of people clean and clear out the messes in their lives. Spring is my favorite season. I love the feeling of renewal and rebirth.
I was pruning our rose bush several weeks ago and felt bad about cutting it. I always feel like I am hurting the bush, but I’m actually helping it become healthier. Pruning controls how it grows and also gives it more room to breathe by trimming the bad and cramped parts of the plant. Now you may be wondering if I started writing a gardening and nature blog. I haven’t. No one would want to read my gardening advice.
Jesus compares Himself to the vine and us to the branches. God is constantly tending His garden and pruning us. How many times do we wonder why something bad happens to us or why we have to go through tough times. Have you ever heard the sayings, “No pain, no gain” and “No cross, no crown”? We sometimes need to be pruned so we can become healthier and grow better.
COVID-19 has caused a lot of pain and suffering throughout the world. Even with all the negatives, I can tell you at least one way that my spiritual life has improved because of the pandemic. I used to just go to the obligatory Mass on Sunday until I couldn’t go at all due to shutdowns. Absence really did make my heart grow fonder. I started going to daily Mass and even started this blog.
We need to periodically prune the extra branches in our lives. We all have things in our lives that while aren’t necessarily bad, don’t really help us grow closer to God. When we have those extra branches cut back, the Holy Spirit is able to reach us better and our souls can breathe easier. With the branches cut back, our light can also shine better from within us and others will be able to see it better.
I appreciate everyone who has been reading my blog and I hope it has made a positive impact in your lives. I don’t get any money for my blog and I’m not looking for notoriety. All I’m trying to do is to bring as many people as possible into a closer relationship with God. I do have some good news. My blog just made it in the top 100 Catholic blogs on Feedspot. Mine is currently listed at #91. Hopefully, more people will tune in and I will move up the list. If you enjoy reading these blogs, feel free to like and share it. The more people that see this, the farther my one little light will shine.
Check out the entire list of top 100 Catholic blogs at https://blog.feedspot.com/catholic_blogs/
