Her Mouth Speaks From That Which Fills Her Heart

"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 bears fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing."

-John 15: 1-5

Before I start today's post, let me first say that life has been crazy. Not only have I not had time to write, I've barely had time to sleep, eat, and just take a moment to relax. Have you ever hit a point in your life where you are so busy that it's hard to enjoy the little things in life? Like you almost don't have time to enjoy them because your mind is in a million different places? Yeah, that's how I have felt the past couple of months. With balancing two jobs, summer school, my time with Josh, and trying to make time for my friends, came a major headache. A headache that honestly, only the good Lord himself could fix. I had to hit a few breaking points and have a few meltdowns to hear what he was saying and I couldn't deny that he was trying to reach out to me any longer. For that, I love my God more than I ever have before. 

With all of that said, I've missed writing and having this peaceful time to myself. Josh and I recently found a church that has truly changed my life forever. Our friends that live right next to The Flood invited us to try it out one Sunday and I instantly fell in love. This church is based out of a middle school and consists of one of the best worship bands I've ever heard, one of the coolest communities I have ever seen, and some of the most darling little families. After the first service, I felt at home and knew that I wanted to make that our permanent home. On top of that, Josh's sister and brother-in-law go there with their 6 month old adorable son and let's get real, I love any excuse to cuddle that little baby! Anyways, I've truly connected each and every service and felt a huge connection on July 19th when Leeana Tankersley spoke. The second she described herself as "fidgety and over caffeinated 24 hours a day," I knew I was going to connect to everything she had to say. Already knowing I could relate to that exact statement, I felt a nudge and heard a giggle from Josh that made it even more apparent that this woman was most likely my twin separated at birth. 

As I look back at my notes from that day, because I'm a visual learner that needs everything written down, I realize that I took away more from this service than I have any other. The verses above were the verses from that day and clearly state that no one but Jesus is your true vine. Given that I am an impatient person, something that I struggle with is God's timing and the idea of being still. Everything lays at the hands of God when it comes to timing for my life such as when I met Josh, when I will finish school, where my career will go, when we will get married, etc. Not knowing the future, as a human, is something I struggle with. Throughout these verses, Jesus uses the word abide which means "onward wait" as in, "be still." What I take from that is my need to be still and trust in The Lord just like it says in Exodus 14:14 and Psalm 46:10.

"The Lord will fight for you. You need only be still."
Exodus 14:14

"Be still and know that I am God."
Psalm 46:10

What Jesus mainly talks about in this verse is the vine that is God and the pruning done in our lives. In my life, I know Jesus is my vine and the one that produces the pruning for me. When Leanna asked what our other vines can be such as relationships, friendships, jobs, past experiences, it hit home with me. We all go through things that we don't want to carry into our future whether it be high school drama, an old relationship, a tragic accident, or a bad decision. All of us experience events in our lives that we wish would stay behind us and we would be lying to ourselves if we said they never affected our future. Luckily for us, we serve a God that loves us, wants the best for us, and WILL take care of us. The biggest takeaway I had from this entire sermon was "get rid of what's not working and focus on what is working." So, what works for me? My focus in life consists of the happiness of my parents and brother, my relationship with Josh, my friends and their well being, my family, a career that I love, and my future. All of those things I just listed will help me to have a life that allows me to stay close to my God and accept his pruning out of love, just as Leanna said.

Now, I ask you what your vine is and what kind of pruning have you noticed over the past few months? Have you gained a new relationship or ended a toxic one? Did you leave a job that wasn't making you happy? Have you gained new friends? Have you switched churches? All of us experience pruning in our lives and whether it's good or bad, it is out of love. God has a bigger plan. Always. I need remember that so thank you for allowing me to say it out loud.

Thank you to all of you for taking this life journey with me and hearing what I have to say.
I'm back with a full heart and lots to share :)

XO
-Riley