It’s time for an update on my ongoing orchard project. To date, I have planted thirty fruit trees. As I have said before, if it grows in Zone Seven, I decided to give it a try. That try includes varieties of Apricots, Apples, Cherries, Figs, Kiwis, Nectarines, Paw Paws, Pears, Plums, Quinces, and many more…
To this I have added a lengthy row of fifty-four Blackberry vines, a medium row of twenty Raspberry bushes, and a short row of five Honeyberry bushes (a variety of Blueberries), as well as a grape arbor containing three Muscadine vines and three Scuppernong vines.
Top it all off with a large Catalpa worm tree for fishing in the adjacent creek, and voila! You have what I like to call a reasonably sustainable food source plot for decades to come.
All total, some one hundred and seventeen plants are now in the ground. And of that number, one hundred and fourteen are in rare form. They are sporting buds and blooms and leaves and even some fruit like nobody’s business!
Alas, however, three are not. These three are still quite dormant. Which three? Sadly, it is my three beloved Pomegranate trees. As I initially observed this, I was crest-fallen. The whole reason I planted these three Pomegranate trees was because my grandparents had one in their yard when I was a child; and oh, how I loved the fruit they produced!
I so wanted my children and grandchildren to have similar opportunities, and similar experiences as a result. Initially, I feared that I would have to shelve two years’ worth of work and dig up and discard the three trees before starting all over and replacing them with entirely new sprigs.
Thankfully, before I took those drastic steps, I decided to do an internet search as to when Pomegranate trees actually bloom. When I did, I discovered to my great delight that, of all the major fruit tree varieties, Pomegranate trees are among the very last to bud and bloom each spring. Indeed, it is not uncommon for them to bud and bloom in late May, and to then produce fruit well into the fall of the year. That gave me great heart.
The truth of this was underscored when article after article that I read also said that, while Pomegranate trees are among the latest of bloomers, Apricots, by comparison, are among the earliest. And lo and behold, among my thirty fruit trees, two are not only in full bloom, but also actually already bearing fruit. And which two trees are these? You guessed it – they are my Apricot trees!
Translation… Apricots are clearly early bloomers; while Pomegranates are clearly late bloomers.
As I have reflected on all of this, I have been reminded of how similar all of it is to how people are. In terms of human development, there are those who are clearly early bloomers and there are those who are clearly late bloomers.
I know individuals who bloomed early in life, winning just about every award they could in middle and high school, but accomplishing precious little thereafter. By contrast, I know individuals who bloomed later in life, accomplishing much of what they did after they finished high school, college, or whatever else that followed. The great irony, perhaps, is that both approaches should be equally valued.
Thank God for those who bloomed early. Samuel was a child when he heard the Lord speak to him. David was as teenager when he trusted the Lord to deliver the giant, Goliath, into his hands.
Similarly, thank God for those who bloomed later. Abraham was one hundred years old when Sarah, aged ninety, gave birth to Isaac. Moses was eighty years old when he finally got busy for the Lord. Zechariah was equally elderly when he was tasked with fathering John the Baptist. Together, all of these individuals exemplify how God intends for some to be late bloomers in His desire to use them.
The upshot of all of this is that God indeed uses both those who bloom early in life and those who bloom later in life. In each and every case, we are reminded that God has a unique purpose for every human life. For some, He wills that they bloom early. For others, He wills that they bloom a bit later.
The important thing in all of this is first, that we recognize God’s timing, and second, that our response unfolds accordingly. In each case, His will is paramount!
My own experience bears this out. My older sister was clearly an early bloomer. She married (with my parents’ consent) at age sixteen; thereafter, she bore three children, and once they were in school, promptly went into business for herself in her early twenties. Quite successfully I might add.
By comparison, my younger sister was more of a late bloomer. After high school, she worked a succession of jobs before getting married. After giving birth to her twos sons and getting them up and on their feet, she then went to college for six years, earning both a Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees before ever beginning her career as a public school teacher.
I myself was somewhat of a late bloomer as well. I did not begin to flourish, as it were, until well after my high school and college days. But in God’s perfect timing, I like to think that I eventually found my niche, and became somewhat productive in life.
Most moms would likely admit that they see the same sorts of differences on display in their own children. Most teachers would probably say they see it on display in classrooms. Most coaches would say they see it on display on ball fields. The analogies are abundant.
But the point in all of this is that, whether you are an early bloomer or a late blower, it is important recognize who you are as human being created in God’s image, and to appreciate whatever skillset with which He has gifted you.
We can’t all be Apricots. Nor can we all be Pomegranates. Some of us will bloom early as we produce what all God intends for us. Others of us will bloom a little later as we do the same. In all of this, working together, we become the multifaceted garden that God intends, blessing those around us, each in turn, as we grow and bare the fruit that enrich their lives of others.
And in so doing, we affirm our commitment to glorifying the Father by being a devoted follower of Jesus Christ, Who told us in the New Testament Gospel of John (chapter 15, verse 8) that: “This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”
Whoever you are, with whatever God has gifted you, find a way in God’s timing, to bloom! For great things will surely come of it once you do!
And that's the bloomin' truth!
SCRIPTURE:
https://biblehub.com/john/15-8.htm.
To this I have added a lengthy row of fifty-four Blackberry vines, a medium row of twenty Raspberry bushes, and a short row of five Honeyberry bushes (a variety of Blueberries), as well as a grape arbor containing three Muscadine vines and three Scuppernong vines.
Top it all off with a large Catalpa worm tree for fishing in the adjacent creek, and voila! You have what I like to call a reasonably sustainable food source plot for decades to come.
All total, some one hundred and seventeen plants are now in the ground. And of that number, one hundred and fourteen are in rare form. They are sporting buds and blooms and leaves and even some fruit like nobody’s business!
Alas, however, three are not. These three are still quite dormant. Which three? Sadly, it is my three beloved Pomegranate trees. As I initially observed this, I was crest-fallen. The whole reason I planted these three Pomegranate trees was because my grandparents had one in their yard when I was a child; and oh, how I loved the fruit they produced!
I so wanted my children and grandchildren to have similar opportunities, and similar experiences as a result. Initially, I feared that I would have to shelve two years’ worth of work and dig up and discard the three trees before starting all over and replacing them with entirely new sprigs.
Thankfully, before I took those drastic steps, I decided to do an internet search as to when Pomegranate trees actually bloom. When I did, I discovered to my great delight that, of all the major fruit tree varieties, Pomegranate trees are among the very last to bud and bloom each spring. Indeed, it is not uncommon for them to bud and bloom in late May, and to then produce fruit well into the fall of the year. That gave me great heart.
The truth of this was underscored when article after article that I read also said that, while Pomegranate trees are among the latest of bloomers, Apricots, by comparison, are among the earliest. And lo and behold, among my thirty fruit trees, two are not only in full bloom, but also actually already bearing fruit. And which two trees are these? You guessed it – they are my Apricot trees!
Translation… Apricots are clearly early bloomers; while Pomegranates are clearly late bloomers.
As I have reflected on all of this, I have been reminded of how similar all of it is to how people are. In terms of human development, there are those who are clearly early bloomers and there are those who are clearly late bloomers.
I know individuals who bloomed early in life, winning just about every award they could in middle and high school, but accomplishing precious little thereafter. By contrast, I know individuals who bloomed later in life, accomplishing much of what they did after they finished high school, college, or whatever else that followed. The great irony, perhaps, is that both approaches should be equally valued.
Thank God for those who bloomed early. Samuel was a child when he heard the Lord speak to him. David was as teenager when he trusted the Lord to deliver the giant, Goliath, into his hands.
Similarly, thank God for those who bloomed later. Abraham was one hundred years old when Sarah, aged ninety, gave birth to Isaac. Moses was eighty years old when he finally got busy for the Lord. Zechariah was equally elderly when he was tasked with fathering John the Baptist. Together, all of these individuals exemplify how God intends for some to be late bloomers in His desire to use them.
The upshot of all of this is that God indeed uses both those who bloom early in life and those who bloom later in life. In each and every case, we are reminded that God has a unique purpose for every human life. For some, He wills that they bloom early. For others, He wills that they bloom a bit later.
The important thing in all of this is first, that we recognize God’s timing, and second, that our response unfolds accordingly. In each case, His will is paramount!
My own experience bears this out. My older sister was clearly an early bloomer. She married (with my parents’ consent) at age sixteen; thereafter, she bore three children, and once they were in school, promptly went into business for herself in her early twenties. Quite successfully I might add.
By comparison, my younger sister was more of a late bloomer. After high school, she worked a succession of jobs before getting married. After giving birth to her twos sons and getting them up and on their feet, she then went to college for six years, earning both a Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees before ever beginning her career as a public school teacher.
I myself was somewhat of a late bloomer as well. I did not begin to flourish, as it were, until well after my high school and college days. But in God’s perfect timing, I like to think that I eventually found my niche, and became somewhat productive in life.
Most moms would likely admit that they see the same sorts of differences on display in their own children. Most teachers would probably say they see it on display in classrooms. Most coaches would say they see it on display on ball fields. The analogies are abundant.
But the point in all of this is that, whether you are an early bloomer or a late blower, it is important recognize who you are as human being created in God’s image, and to appreciate whatever skillset with which He has gifted you.
We can’t all be Apricots. Nor can we all be Pomegranates. Some of us will bloom early as we produce what all God intends for us. Others of us will bloom a little later as we do the same. In all of this, working together, we become the multifaceted garden that God intends, blessing those around us, each in turn, as we grow and bare the fruit that enrich their lives of others.
And in so doing, we affirm our commitment to glorifying the Father by being a devoted follower of Jesus Christ, Who told us in the New Testament Gospel of John (chapter 15, verse 8) that: “This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples.”
Whoever you are, with whatever God has gifted you, find a way in God’s timing, to bloom! For great things will surely come of it once you do!
And that's the bloomin' truth!
SCRIPTURE:
https://biblehub.com/john/15-8.htm.