What October and My Garden Taught Me About Abiding

October is almost over, and soon we step into November, a month focused on gratitude. The hillsides are peppered with gold, orange, and red, both here in Colorado and in Georgia’s Blue Ridge Mountains, where I was recently. These colors remind me that fall is not only an ending. It also prepares us for new beginnings.

I have been thinking about this as I get my garden ready for winter. I prune my roses back to the ground so their roots can grow strong and flourish in the spring. I cut back the perennials that were once full of colorful blossoms. Now they are drying up as the nights grow cooler and the sun sets earlier. Every season brings joys and challenges, and each season has its own work to be done. Pruning is part of that work. Without it, these plants could not strengthen their roots and bloom again.

Our lives move through seasons too, and this past month has been a roller coaster. We enjoyed some wonderful highs. We cheered for our grandkids at soccer games and fun runs, and I had the opportunity to serve women in ministry from Colorado to Texas. We also walked through deep losses. We said goodbye to a sister-in-law whose death came unexpectedly, a beloved aunt, and a dear friend’s husband. Most tragic of all, a friend lost her young grandson. Some seasons cut us all the way back to the ground.

That same month, my husband and I attended a marriage retreat. One evening we went on a night hike. We could not see the path ahead in the dark, so we had to trust our leader and lean on each other. Later, on the high ropes course, fear tried to hold me back. I had to trust not only God, but also the abilities He has given me, the healing He has brought, and the people guiding me along the way.

Isn’t that what pruning seasons ask of us? When we cannot see the path, we trust the One who leads us. When fear and grief threaten to stop us, we lean on Him and on the people He has placed beside us. Jesus tells us the Father prunes the branches so they can bear even more fruit. The cutting back is not the end of the story. It makes room for what He will grow next. Pruning is not a punishment; it is a preparation.

Looking back over this month, I see God’s hand in it all. He was there in the cheering and the grieving, on the dark trail and the high ropes, in the joy and the loss. So, I can step into November with a grateful heart. Not because every moment was easy, but because He was faithful in everyone.

Is the Lord pruning your life in some way?

Prayer: Lord, thank You for being the faithful Gardener of my life. When You cut back what I hold dear, help me trust that You are strengthening my roots for the season ahead. Teach me to abide in You when I cannot see the path, and fill my heart with gratitude for Your presence in every season. In Jesus’ name, Amen.