The Vine and the Branches

I was praying with this past Sunday’s Gospel and the line above stood out to me. In the last week, I have felt rejuvenated and reminded of who I am – a wonderfully made daughter of God.

Sometimes, I can get stuck in my head about all the ways that I am not perfect. Only God is perfect so you can imagine the anxiety that I feel over putting that pressure on myself. You see, many times, when we are dealing with stressful situations, we tend to go to what we know or what we have been taught. I am grateful for the foundation that I received as a child to rely on God in stressful times. But there isn’t one way to go about it. As time goes on and you become older, your relationship with God takes form in the way you nurture it. He always invites us to be in relationship with Him. But we have to be ready to make the necessary changes in life. Sometimes, that means, acknowledging that the thoughts in your head can block you from allowing His will to be done.

The Vine and the Branches gives us a beautiful illustration of how we can nurture our relationship with God by understanding who God the Father and God the Son are in our lives. When I am receptive to receiving their love, and trust that I am being prepared for something greater, nothing stands in the way. During the Easter season, Jesus is inviting us to prepare ourselves for the reception of the Holy Spirit. He wants us to know that if we remain in Him, the Spirit is ready to do the work according to His will. We cannot allow for the negative and stressful thoughts in our minds to take over. God wants us to grow into something greater. We can grow when love is present. God as our vine grower, has sent His son, the vine, to hold on to us and remain close to His branches. He knows that if the branches are nurtured well, they will bear fruit.

I pray that these next few weeks leading up to Pentecost, you feel the pull of the Vine. Allow yourself to be loved so intimately by Jesus Christ that you don’t allow for the stressful thoughts to get in the way of God’s will being done.

“What then shall we say to this? If God is for us, who can be against us?” Romans 8:31

Are you paying attention to the ways in which God is inviting you to prepare for the gift of His Holy Spirit? How are you responding?