Gardening

"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.... I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing."
John 15:1-2, 5

A commentary from, i forget whom: Notice that both branches get cut. The difference is in how we respond to the pain of the pruning. In many ways, the way that we bear the pruning is how we know that we are growing in our relationship with God. Do we get bitter, or better? What does the experience of loss or hindrance expose in us? Our Father is a faithful gardener, ready to cut off the things in our lives that don't bear fruit, and reminding the fruitful ones that our life is not in the fruit, but only in the vine.

That is an interesting thought, cut off the things in our lives that don't bear fruit. So i think of the things in my life that have been cut off - health, finances, friendships, family - good things that God has soveriegnly severed. Is it because these things did not/would not bear fruit? I am not exactly sure... any thoughts?