Never Give Up

When we moved into our current house I was skeptically excited to see a young apple tree in the back yard.  It was full of promise and potential.  Unfortunately for it, I have what I refer to as a black thumb.  Unlike the green variety, I tend to kill anything I try to grow.  This tree was no exception or so I thought.  Within a year there was nothing but sticks left of my tree.

It was this way for two to three years.  Some may wonder why I never ripped the tree out...I guess I didn't want to give up.  It was sad to see in our backyard though.  A reminder of my failures.
Imagine my surprise when I went out one day and there were a few green leaves on my sticks. I secretly hoped that my tree was being resurrected. Though I never really expected it too. Then to my delight, those few leaves became a full green tree. But it still took 2 years to see any fruit on the tree. Last year was the first time we had fruit and we had a total of 2 apples. To my friends whose trees produced 100's without any effort on their part, my two must have seemed sad, but I was rejoicing...I even took pictures.

This year was beyond my wildest dreams...our tree is full. I have pulled bags of apples off of our tree and there are still more ripening. To those that have had full trees for years and somehow dread the season for not knowing what to do with all those apples, it may seem naive to be so happy. But I have literally prayed for a season such as this.

I reflected on why this was so important to me the other day and I realized it is a metaphor for my life. Never give up the fruits of your labor are yet to come!!

There have been many times in my life when the future looked bleak and unsure, but perseverance and prayer saw me through. Now I look at my son and see the fruit of prayer in his life...yet there are still unknowns hanging over his head.   He has never given up.   He has found a way.

So here is my wish for all reading this...never give up...find a way and God will provide a rich harvest!!