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Dare greatly: step into the wilderness
Many of the plants that were in our garden during this drawing project were planted and left by prior owners of our home. The grapevine was one of them. It always reminded me of a grapevine that I grew up with in my childhood that would produce the sweetest grapes each year in the late summer. It’s such a nice memory to have - eating the grapes off the vine and spitting out the seeds (and sometimes the skins).
But this grapevine rarely bore fruit. I think out of over 15 years, we only saw fruit twice. Every year the vine would grow like crazy (almost to the point of tipping over the fence under its weight). It’s like the word GROWTH was a no-brainer. All this vine did was grow and grow and grow! So every year, without knowing anything about gardening, we would find ourselves pruning the grapevine out of necessity. This drawing was made from one of the trimmed branches.
When I look back at this card (and the plant), what comes up for me is how unhindered growth - growth just for growth’s sake - may not always translate to useful or productive growth. The grapevine actually thrives when it is pruned and I wonder if the years that it produced fruit were ones when we somehow managed to prune it correctly. I don’t know if any of you have ever tried pruning - it’s hard to know which branches need to stay and which ones can go!
So maybe there is a lesson here from this grapevine, asking us not only what it is we need to do to GROW in our own lives, but what do we do to PRUNE in a way that leads us to the places where we can enjoy the fruit and sweetness of our efforts.
TAKE A DEEP DIVE INTO THE THEME
EPISODE 11 - SEASON 1
Growth happens in so many different ways. The Gratitude Blooming card #33 is inspired by the grapevine. The grapevine is such a powerful metaphor.
What is the trellis that holds your growth? What do you need to prune? Alternatively, what can you let go of and let go wild? We dare greatly when we pause, listen to what is calling to us, and dare to accept the invitation.
EPISODE 22 - SEASON 2
We’re excited to preview an upcoming episode on the theme of Growth and the grapevine by sharing our long-form interview with Pastor Keith PK Jenkins.
Keith is a strong leader who through humility and compassion gains access to the hearts of other leaders. His honesty and integrity creates opportunities for him to be a bridge builder. He effectively communicates cross-culturally and bridges the generations.
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Growth is one of the 39 Gratitude Blooming themes that we explore to help our community keep gratitude front of mind.
Explore all themes
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