Osage Orange

The osage orange is truly a remarkable tree if for no other reason than it grows well in Kansas. Actually it grows too well. I’d almost call it a weed. Very few people appreciate this tree except for its use in a hedgerow for a field. That is why most of us call it the hedge tree.

In the hedge row it can pursue growth in odd shaped directions and drop those awful, sticky hedge apples (hedge balls in the farmers' vocabulary) all over the place. A few trees will become a thicket if the field they protect from strong winds is not regularly tilled. If you are wanting firewood that burns long and hot, hedge is perfect but beware of using it in a fireplace as it will pop embers.

We have a large male hedge tree in our backyard. It was there when we moved into our home on the edge of a small Kansas town. It has benefited from the irrigation system we installed and the fertilizer applied to the yard and garden. Recently we had Hummel Tree Service trim out the dead branches. What a difference that made! It is gorgeous and stately.

I have had some time to think as I have been slowly recovering from my back-hip-knee injury. What is important in life? What is just window-dressing? What is a total waste of my energy and time? Like that hedge tree, I need to have some dead wood removed along with some errant branches of temptation. Regular spiritual watering and feeding through Bible study, prayer, and association with Christian friends means I have a healthy relationship with Jesus. However, if I am to stand out as a well-formed, healthy Christian I must cut away that which does not belong in my life.

Surely it cannot be much. I am a good person living a good life.

"Ouch." There goes the branch of self-congratulatory pride. Okay God, let’s get the painful work done.

So what needs to be pruned?

• The time wasters—those things which really do not matter
• The things I do to boost my ego
• My pridefully stubborn behaviors
• My self-direction
• My thoughtless behaviors towards others because I am too self-absorbed

“...That is why Scripture says: ‘God opposes the proud

but gives grace to the humble.’" James 4:6b

Lord, continue to show me the deadwood in my life. Remove the errant branches. Prune me.