You're listening to Encounter, a simple daily podcast to help you discover sacred moments

in the middle of an ordinary day.

If you would enjoy greater access to even more free meditations, I encourage you to download

the encountering piece app where all the meditations are free as they should be.

When so much of life seems unruly, excessive and messy, attacking an overgrown bush with

the pair of sharp pruning clippers can almost be therapeutic.

But did you know there is a right and a wrong time of year to prune?

Well, it depends on the plant or tree and what you want to happen.

John 15 gives us a clue about pruning plants that bear fruit.

If you have a small, young fruit tree that you want to grow quickly and produce a quality

harvest, you prune it late in winter because winter pruning spurs vigorous growth in the

spring.

Have you felt cut back recently pruned pieces of you taken away?

Well this meditation from the 15th chapter of John will help you understand why God

often seems to prune us back even in the cold winter days of our life.

So to begin your meditation, find a place to be comfortable, alone, quiet and still.

We will be together for about 15 minutes.

Start by taking a moment to settle and prepare yourself to be aware of God in this moment.

But comfortably and quiet and begin to relax your eyes into a soft focus, just become

aware of God, his spirit and his son present in and around you, want you to observe God

observing you.

Such Christ sizing you up, the spirit noticing you now.

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