When Wild Vines Take Over

This last weekend we had a long list of yard and house projects to tackle. My first project was cutting back some vines we had growing around an archway leading to our side yard.

My main goal was to trim back the vines that were beginning to reach their way to our roof line. I took my pruning shears and quickly cut them away. Check! Job completed. I moved on to the next item on the never-ending list.

About an hour later, I rounded the corner on my way into the house and noticed the arbor and vines. The vines were neatly trimmed near the house – but the right side was OUT OF CONTROL. As I came closer, now with my eyes on the other side of the arbor, I noticed that the vines had started reaching neighboring plants and were happily weaving and growing together. As I walked away to find my clippers to take care of this wild side, a bit annoyed that my simple job was not done, I looked back and noticed that a few of the vines had not only made their way across the neighboring plant but now reached up to the overhanging branch of a tree across our fence line. Following the vine’s path, I noticed it went up to the top of the tree, over 20 feet in length! I was in shock! Because my original job was to focus on the other side of the arbor, I almost missed how wild this vine had gotten. I now walked with a skip in my step to get my clippers. This out-of-control vine was MINE! I was going to cut and trim these crazy tendrils and bring order back to this plant!

Now you probably know where I am going with this: This vine was created to grow! With the proper care and training, it will be a beautiful and full plant for all to enjoy. But left to itself, it will become an overgrown mess overtaking neighboring plants and trees. This is how our thoughts and beliefs work. We have 1000s of thoughts throughout our day, many of which go unnoticed. Left unchecked, they can go “wild” and begin to grow and reach into places they should not be – overgrowing and overtaking our hearts and mind.

Now I am paying closer attention to that arbor as I walk past it and appreciate the work it took to return the vine to health after it had been neglected and allowed to run rampant.

Our thoughts are wonderful and powerful. They are meant to explore, stretch and grow toward Christ-likeness. Like the vine next to our house, our thoughts and beliefs need to be pruned and sometimes rerouted so that they don’t entangle our mental, emotional and spiritual health. Check on your thoughts and beliefs today. Are there any that are out of control? What can you do to prune them back and bring them into healthy alignment with the Father?