Bearing fruit takes time

I've been thinking a lot lately about the verses in John - "I am the vine, you are the branches". Thinking about how we have to remain in the vine to bear fruit. And how the fruits of the spirit take time to develop. But so often I pray for things, especially change in my own life, and I don't see immediate results! And I keep praying for a little while, and then I get frustrated with God because it doesn't look like things are going anywhere. But I need to remember that apple trees and pear trees and grapevines don't get planted one day and produce luscious fruit the next. It takes time, and careful watering, and fertilizing, and protection from the wind and hail, and pruning from the gardener. John also says that we must remain in him. He repeats that several times in the passage. We can't just jump ship and uproot ourselves because we aren't producing fruit fast enough. Perhaps sometimes it's a vanity issue? We want to produce lots of sweet, juicy fruit right away so people can come and say "wow! Look at that tree! God must be doing good stuff in them - look how well they are producing!" People don't tend to notice a tree that's just sitting there, in the process of putting forth buds, before the blossoms come out. The other cool thing that I need to remember as well is that each stage of the process is beautiful in its own right. The tree with blossoms is pretty, even though the fruit has not matured yet. And when the fruit is just ripening, that's neat too, to see how it grows and matures. Then the last stage is good as well, when the fully mature fruit is ripe and ready for eating.

John 15:1" I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes[a] so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.
5 "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. 8This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

Bloom where you're planted

Last Friday I was pretty frustrated - the week was hard, and nothing seemed to be accomplished the way it needed to be accomplished or should have been accomplished. I felt like all week I had been beating my head against the wall and embodying the philosophy "if at first you don't succeed, try, try again". That evening a few of us got together for prayer, as we usually do on Fridays, and one of my friends as he prayed for me and my research said "Father, help Kelly to realize that this is real life. Let her know that life doesn't begin after grad school, that this is real life". I was kind of puzzled for a while, and mad a little, because I didn't want that to be real life! Real life is supposed to be good, supposed to be hard for a little while, and then get better, especially if you pray a lot about your situation. I mean, God can't keep not answering your prayer forever, right?

As is often the case when God is trying to speak to me, he doesn't just say things once and leave me alone. Last week, I had heard a sermon about how Joseph, and how he was faithful even in the middle of his story. It was hard, and took YEARS to get out of it, but God gave him big things to be in charge of, because he was faithful in little.

The sermon this Sunday was on Jeremiah 29 and how the Israelites were in exile, but told to settle down, plant fields and harvest them, and to give their sons and daughters in marriage. What?? Kind of crazy, since they were in exile, and that's certainly not what God had in mind for them. But it was a good reminder to me - this is real life. I can't always be looking forward to the next step, trying to ignore or avoid or bypass what's going on right now, in front of me. Kind of also reminds me of the movie Mary Poppins. Remember the point in the movie where the twins could talk to the birds in their window? And then the twins got older, and no longer understood the birds. I don't want to get to the point where I no longer hear the birds, no longer see what's right in front of me, just because I grow up and other things crowd me out. May I be like a little child, coming to my Father, trusting him to carry me through day by day, and truly experiencing real life, here and now.