Fewer Branches, Better Fruit

I came across four words this morning that made me stop:

Fewer branches. Better fruit.

I’ve been thinking about them ever since.

Because I’m pretty good at growing branches.

A new idea.

A new project.

Something else I could make.

Someone else I could help.

Another way to raise a little more money or reach a few more people.

And none of those things are bad.

That’s what makes pruning so hard.

Sometimes the things God asks us to lay down aren’t bad things. They’re good things that have simply taken up space He wants us to use differently.

Painting with Purpose has grown into things I never imagined when I started. Paintings became auctions. Auctions became Community Champions. Strangers became friends. A little idea became thousands of dollars poured back into this community.

And somewhere along the way, I started believing that growing meant doing more.

Maybe it doesn’t.

Maybe growth can look like doing fewer things—and doing the things that remain with more intention.

Jesus said:

“Every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.” — John 15:2

The branch being pruned is already bearing fruit.

I love that.

God isn’t necessarily removing something because it failed. Sometimes He prunes something that is working because He knows what could grow in its place.

I’m beginning to see this season of Painting with Purpose that way.

I don’t need to chase every idea.

I don’t need to make everything I could make.

I don’t need to say yes simply because something is good.

I want to protect room for painting. For people. For stories. For generosity. For the things God has actually asked me to tend.

Fewer branches. Better fruit.

Maybe that isn’t just a lesson for Painting with Purpose.

Maybe it’s a pretty good way to live.

From the Front Porch: Is there a “good” thing in your life that God may be asking you to prune—not because it was wrong, but because He’s making room for something better?

I’d love to hear what He’s teaching you.