John 15:1-2 — I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit He takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.

Hindsight really is twenty-twenty.

It’s funny how we sometimes laugh about things we once cried over. Moments that felt overwhelming, personal, and devastating can eventually become stories we tell around the dinner table.

One of my earliest memories is throwing a full-blown tantrum over a hot dog. I wanted to squeeze the mustard on it myself, but my mom beat me to it. I was furious. Kicking, flailing, acting like the world had ended.

Little Brendan felt like his soul had been assassinated.

Big Brendan doesn’t even keep mustard in his fridge.

A lot of our problems are like that. Time gives us perspective, and what once felt enormous can eventually look surprisingly small.

But not every problem is a hot dog.

Some wounds alter the course of your life. Some losses take years to heal. Some pain runs so deep that nobody wants to bring it up around the dinner table.

And in those seasons, we can misunderstand the hand of our Father.

Jesus says, “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener.” He tells us that the gardener prunes the branches so they can bear more fruit.

Pruning isn’t always easy to understand while it’s happening. Sometimes it hurts. Sometimes we can’t see what God is doing—or why He’s allowing us to walk through something so painful.

But we can trust the Gardener.

God isn’t trying to destroy you. He is faithful to work in you, even in the places that hurt. He can take what feels broken and use it to grow something beautiful. He doesn’t waste our pain. He can redeem it, repurpose it, and use it to draw us closer to Him.

Maybe someday you’ll look back and see things differently. Not because the pain didn’t matter, but because God met you in it—and changed how you carried it.

The same God who is with you in the pruning is the God who will bring forth new growth.

A MOMENT TO REFLECT

• Is there a painful season in your life that you still don’t understand?
• Where might God be growing something in you through that experience?
• What would it look like today to trust the Gardener, even when you can’t yet see what He’s doing?