What Can a Stump do?

From J.E. Tada's More Precious than Silver

A stump [stood] above ground...mortally wounded...the owner then grafted into the stump a sprig bearing the flower of a golden delicious apples. In time, a sturdy sapling had grown from the base of a stump and bears....what? Crab apples? No way. The fruit took on the identity and distinctiveness of the living graft, not the old stump. It was a new fruit from a new tree. This delighted the farmer of the orchard. But his work wasn't over. He had to continually snip off crab apple shoots that would sprout out of the stump....how [we are] new creatures in Christ, we are dead to sin, yet alive to God. 
Rom 8:12-13                ¹² Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. ¹³ For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.
We, who have taken on the identity and distinctiveness of Christ, have an obligation to put to death those sucker shoots of sin that, if we're not careful, will rob us of fruit that pleases God.

I have watched my dear Daddy graft apple trees as long as I can remember. Early in the springtime, before the trees are really thinking of "waking up", he gathers twigs of other apple varieties, and then, when the trees are more "awake", he marches out there and mangles a small tree branch. He has to. The new twig is set firmly against the tree-side, newly injured branch and held together for several months, usually by a rubber band wrapped 'round and 'round to allow the sap to cross over and feed the new branch. 9 times out of 10...we walked out later and the new twig was fully attached to the tree with leaves and sometimes a flower budding. 
I never thought about the passage of "I am the vine, you are the branches" in this manner, but it actually makes it make more sense. 
I also never thought about the fact that both parts had to be mangled for the whole procedure to work. Jesus had to die a terrible death of agony for our sins....and we had to be willing to accept Him as the Son of God and work on not being such horrible people. We had to die to sin. 
How wonderful it is that God was willing to die for me. I often feel like the most wretched creature on the face of the planet---more so in a way since the RA has thus far taken so much away from me in what I can accomplish in a day. While my Bible study time and other time spent with God IS worthwhile, the world screams at me that I am lazy and useless, even though I cannot make my body do any more than it already is. It just will fall asleep. I can't do more. I guess maybe doing things for other people and doing lots of extra other things was maybe becoming a "god" for me. I am not sure. I don't know that my work was pulling me from God, as I often prayed during my work day, but I did not spend as much time in the Word. I think maybe I could call my work then, before RA was so active, as a "god". I certainly would skip any Bible study or church if I was on call, but mainly because I would not have phone service. 
Either way, I am here now, and may be this way the rest of my life. If that is to be the case, I intend to dedicate my life to Bible studies; reading good authors, good commentaries, learning as much as I can about God, learning as much of the Word as I can. That is my work now, that is what I do...and I do love it. I just wish I could do a few more things without ending up so dreadfully ill.