"Lesson's From My Grandfather's Orchard"

My grandfather on my mothers side had an orchard. Grandma and Grandpa lived in town a few miles away but they had a farm too! My aunt and uncle lived in the house, but grandpa did the chores twice a day and tending two cows for milk and a few chickens for eggs. I remember that grandpa spent a great deal of time in the orchard each day with the trees.

He seemed to be alone, but now that I think about it, he was there having mental time, thinking and cleaning out the cobwebs from his mind. Maybe having discussions with God? He could tend the trees; sit down under the trees and rest or take a nap as long as he needed. He would clean under the trees,fertilize and water them, and some of the trees every year had to be pruned. The trees produced lots of good fresh fruit that supplied their table and the aged people they cared for. They had plenty to gave away and some was sold for money. That was good.

There are lessons here if we look at the things he did. My grandfather was slow and meticulous, but cared for his trees and animals. In return the trees produced for him. His caring. feeding and pruning of the trees allowed new shoots or growth to produce more good fruit each year. It might seem cruel to trim away at the trees, but that is the way to get rid of old dead or dying limbs that were not going to produce fruit. The new growth came forth and kept producing strong tasty fruit.

God works much the same way for us. He tries to keep us producing good fruit. We most of the time, get in the way by trying to keep our old habits, bad thoughts or opinions, and we stop producing. We accumulate so many bad attitudes that God has to clear away the old to make way for new thoughs, habit, opinions and attitudes to form new clean, clear ones.

One way is to wake us up to hear him and what he wants from us, what he planned for us to do for him. By pruning away the old dead stuff in our lives, we can again hear our maker. He needs us to listen to him and he will help us renew our lives and make us new creatures. He wants us to be happy and warm people so we can love as we are to love. We are to learn to produce the fruit of the spirit as is stated in Galatians 5:22; Love, joy, peace, longsuffering,gentleness, goodness and faith, meekness, temperance. God loves us and wants us to be like his son Jesus, at least to do our best and be as close to Jesus as we can be. May you produce the fruit like the orchards.