“I’m going to cut my cable like I cut my hair” is what I declared boldly to one of my
sisters a few years ago. I was visiting my parents in San Antonio, and she had just showed me
and my mama how to attach an indoor antenna and add a streaming service to a non-smart
television. Even though I had been talking about it for a few years, watching her show how
easy it was gave me the courage to finally cut the cable cord.
I became even more convinced a few days later when a bad summer thunderstorm here in
Fort Worth knocked out my home phone, internet, and cable television. At first, I was
frustrated that I’d lost my cable and internet. Then I considered it a chance to experiment and
see whether I could really live without cable. Surprisingly after the first 24 hours, I realized that
not only could I do it, but I was also now intrigued by the challenge of finding the right
streaming service to watch my favorite television shows.
By the time AT&T came to replace the defective router/gateway four days later, I’d
adjusted to life without cable and decided to end my cable tv service. When the cable was
actually cut a few days later, I felt a little sad that I could no longer watch some of my favorite
cable shows (even though most were reruns), but the sadness was replaced with the joy of
knowing I was now saving about 70% off my bill. Truth be told, the first few days without
cable gave me the time and focus to finish reading 3 books and writing projects.
Gaining something unexpected by cutting something I thought I needed also happened in
early June of that same year when I did the “big chop,” and cut off my permed hair and went all
natural. Even though I’d been preparing to go natural for a few years by wearing a protective
crochet braid hairstyle, it still took me a few days to adjust to seeing myself in my teeny weenie afro. The shorter hairstyle made it harder to hide my few strands of grey hair, but I grew to
love it. Truthfully, I was afraid of what others would say about my natural hair (especially my
mama) but slowly built up the sassy confidence to say that my hair didn’t make me; I make my
hair! My hair is now stronger than it was when I had it permed even though the annoying gray
hairs remain!
Both of these experiences have showed me that pruning is necessary to get us to grow as
it says in John 15:2, “Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and
every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit.” It may be hard to initially
do but sometimes God wants us to cut out people, places, things, attitudes, and behaviors out of
our lives. He can then give us more of what we need so we can grow into who he has called us
to be.
Shewanda Riley is a Fort Worth, Texas based author of “Love Hangover: Moving From Pain to
Purpose After a Relationship Ends” and “Writing to the Beat of God’s Heart: A Book of Prayers
for Writers.” Email her at preservedbypurpose@gmail.com or follow her on Twitter
@shewanda.