The reality is, if you want a fruit tree to continue to bear fruit, it has to be pruned.

And the pruning is not actually a narrative on what it's doing wrong.

It's a narrative on what it's doing right for the long haul of fruitfulness.

It's something I think we really press and we want students to get a handle on,

because we're like, when we say this, we set it for years. Your neediness for the Lord is your

honor, not your shame, because that is kingdom culture. To have needs, to need the Lord,

and to need each other, and to need more of the Lord is a lifelong experience.

This is the podcast of Jonathan David and Melissa Helster.

This episode is the first in a three-part series about what it means to do the good work of

tending to your heart and embracing the posture of a lifelong learner.

Okay, just to warm us up, we're waking up. I was thinking about how we've seen so many

alumni lately, weddings, markets, students walking the land, showing up at lunches,

walking into the farmhouse, and I just kind of go around and reflect a little bit.

What is something that you have felt surprised by in encountering

former students in these past, like even in the past month since the school ended?

I don't know that I would call it a surprise. I think one thing I've been, maybe it's a surprise,

I'm not sure. I think I'm encouraged by some of the soberness I feel,

in some of their hearts, when they talk about like, when they look me in the eyes, you know,

you do that. I contact a so big person when I lock eyes, and I'm like, you know, how are you?

And they're like, I'm good now. Life is really hard, but I'm staying in it. And I think

I feel encouraged by that sobriety, honestly, because life is really hard.

That encourages me probably more than they're like, everything's good.

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