Last December while reading Hosea 14, I sensed God speak the theme of "fruitfulness" to me for 2026. The latter part of verse 8 says, "Your fruitfulness comes from me." My thoughts immediately went to Jesus' words in John 15 where Jesus says, 

 

1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2 He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes^[a] so that it will be even more fruitful. 3 You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4 Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me.

5 “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7 If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. 8 This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.

 

Since returning to Japan, I have experienced so many changes: I moved from the apartment where I lived for the past 20 years, I changed to ministry at another church, and our Chi Alpha team members keep changing. In view of Jesus' words, I now accept the changes as "pruning." While the changes have forced me to adapt, I now welcome the changes because I anticipate fruitfulness. My aim is to stay connected to Jesus wherever I find myself and allow Him to cultivate fruitfulness in and through me, even in the "pruning" season.