More fruit, less leaves

I have a wonderful garden in my backyard, though I do not boast to be an expert gardener.  I like to plant new things, experiment, and see what happens.  I fail just as much as I succeed; but I do learn in the process.  I planted a wisteria vine on my fence as the earth has no sweeter gift than clusters of purple oozing with perfume which fills the entire yard.
To my sadness, I had no blooms last year.  Not one!  This vine grew and grew, stretching long tendrils across the fence, into the neighbor's yard.  It even reached the black walnut tree above it and invaded its branches.  What was I to do, as the gardener, to encourage the blossoms?
I read up on this plant; seems that it only blooms once it has stopped exploring.  As long as tendrils are finding new places, it will continue to spread leaves but will not settle down.  This vine must be told to stop creeping and start blooming.  
I took my pruners and went to work ----- giving it a hard prune and cutting all tendrils, detaching it from the walnut tree.  I gave the vine new boundaries.  I will continue to prune to keep it secure so that it can use its energy for blossoms, not leaves.
As one who likes the outdoors, I love that God uses a garden/vineyard many times as  a picture of His work in us.  Like the wisteria, we often want to wander, spread out, go all over, even into unwelcomed yards.  God says, "I want you to bear blossoms for me."  We say, "But I want to stretch up in the walnut tree!  I'm makin plenty of leaves, isn't that good enough?"  God says, "I want the blossoms.  They produce the sweet odor that I desire."  We, like the vine, argue with the Master Gardener.  As if we know better.
Then He pulls out the pruners ---- we cringe at the sight, we know it's coming.  He begins to cut away the dead parts, the wild tendrils, the vines creeping in the wrong places, the leaves that are useless.
Only after the pruning can God's purpose come out of us.  Pruning means that God loves us.  It proves that He sees value in us, and that He desires us to produce not just any fruit, but GOOD fruit. What a wonderful God we have.  I don't know about you, but I want luscious purple blossoms hanging in my life rather than endless leaves.
The verse in John 15 is a great encourager for us when we feel the sharp pruning shears in life.  We know that God is doing it for a good reason, not for our punishment but for our betterment ----- he wants more fruit!  God always seeks more and more from us; that's amazing! He loves us too much to let us become a leafy stringy tendril that goes rogue.  He wants us close to the fence, grounded with the vine, exploding with spiritual blossoms.  The result is always color, beauty, and fragrance which attracts all forms of life.
Back to my garden, I've done the pruning work and will now let time settle in.  I will update you as to what happens.
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