After moving from Houston to Lubbock, John and I discovered the joy of fresh off the tree apricots. An orchard, not far from our new home, invited people to come and pick on the half. What fun!
Having watched my mom make jam, I decided to give it a try with our freshly picked apricots. It turned out to be so delicious I entered it into the fair and won a blue ribbon.
Since my jam was now famous – we decided to save some of the seeds and grow our own apricot tree. It flourished and became the talk of the neighborhood as I gladly shared the fresh fruit and jam with both neighbors and friends.
And then it happened! The house next door was being remodeled. While removing a huge dumpster from the neighbor’s driveway, the truck accidentally backed it into our 30 year old apricot tree. It literally split the tree in half. My husband and his friend worked diligently treating the wounds and binding it back together with long bolts and wire bands. We all prayed for survival.
Much to our delight, the next spring what was left of the tree bore a huge bumper crop. The whole neighborhood rejoiced and enjoyed the fruit from the tree. But sadly, that was the last crop. An extremely hard winter took its toll on the wounded tree and it died. So why am I telling you this story? Because it reminds me of one of God’s promises written in Psalm 92:12-15.
The righteous will flourish like a palm tree,
they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon;
planted in the house of the Lord,
they will flourish in the courts of our God.
They will still bear fruit in old age,
they will stay fresh and green
proclaiming, “The Lord is upright;
He is my Rock, and there is no wickedness in Him.”
My husband and I often claim the promises in this scripture. We are aging and flourishing and are most likely in the process of bearing in ministry the largest crop of our lives!
WRITE YOUR STORIES WELL AND BRING BEAUTY TO YOUR WORLD
A good friend, who faithfully loves and serves the Lord, just celebrated her 100th birthday. She is still fruitful and green. She flies, she drives, she is super sharp and she still shares God’s Word and His wisdom with every opportunity. Isn’t that what all of us desire – to be fruitful and green to the end?
So… John and I commit to seek first His Kingdom; walk in His righteousness; tithe from our first-fruits;
and stand on His promises.
My friends, it is never too late to start. We may suffer wounding along the way; but He is there to diligently bind up our wounds because HE IS FAITHFUL and His promises are, “Yes and amen.” We can put that in the bank!
