Pruning looks like loss until the next harvest shows up.

Cutting something back looks exactly like damage while it is happening. The plant does not get a briefing and neither do you, which is why a season of things being taken away feels like punishment. What gets removed is usually what was drawing energy away from growth.

If something has recently been taken out of your life, try asking what it was using up rather than only what you lost. Be honest that this is hard and that you may not see it clearly yet. Give God the space it left instead of rushing to fill it.