I have always wanted a strawberry patch. I'm not 100% sure exactly why, but I do know that strawberries just evoke that feeling of warm summer weather ahead. It reminds me of strawberry shortcake at my granny's house. Those were simpler times. I loved coming home from school, and I would pick some little violets for my granny, and we were met with a strawberry shortcake treat sometimes after school. I have tried several times to grow my strawberry patch, and it has never worked out. I realize that there were multiple reasons why.
Every time I have tried to grow my strawberry patch, I have rushed the process. I wanted to buy some strawberry plants, put them in the ground, and enjoy my summertime harvest right away. There were times I would get blooms or one strawberry, but never enough to satisfy this picture that I had for the bountiful harvest, I was expecting. I have tried this at two of our homes, and I achieved the same results.
In our new home, I saw an idea on Pinterest of using rain gutters and using them as planters. This would get the strawberry plants away from the dogs, away from the kids, and I could start small. So last Summer we built them. I was excited to find some plants and get rolling, but when we went to buy the plants, the season was over. We had missed it. I had the place to plant. I had a plan, and I was forced to wait until this year. Chris and I made a mental note that we needed to start looking in March. My planters sat empty until now.
Instead of buying the plants fully grown, we chose to go the route of strawberry roots. This was in part that everywhere we were looking were out. I watched a YouTube video on how to plant them. Something they said that threw me for a loop. For the first year, this lady wanted me to pick off all the white flower buds as soon as they bloomed. This allows the plant to focus on getting solid roots versus producing fruit. What!? Another year of waiting for this bountiful harvest?
As I was lying on my hammock after the first round of picking off what should have been my first strawberry harvest, I was reminded of how we go through seasons of this as well. We need to take time to prune off things to grow stronger roots.
"Remain in me, as I also 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. “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." John 15:4-5
This season for me, is a time for pruning and healing. What areas in your life do you need to adjust for a season so you can heal? What areas are keeping you from abiding with Jesus? Perhaps you need to start praying for wisdom about what areas keep you from abiding? You might even be experiencing a very fruitful season. How can you be intentional by having a heart of gratitude for what is going on in your life right now?
What you cultivate now matters for later. Let's focus on the bigger picture as we wait in anticipation for when that hard work of pruning and waiting occurs.