Parenting for Fruit

You know often times in the absolute dead of winter I look out at my fruit orchard and see dead looking bare trees. When we bought this farm, things were so overgrown we didn’t do the customary walk over the whole property. It looked good from a high point, had enough pasture and the house was something we could work with so we bought it. It wasn’t until weeks after we moved in that we went exploring. I found a group of trees amidst the brush and brambles that though unkempt showed signs of former care. It dawned on me…

A fruit orchard! Apple trees, pear trees, peach trees, plum trees, and berry vines. A dream come true. My goal at every house we had ever lived at was to plant fruit trees right off, knowing it would be years before we got any fruit. And yet here they were, mature fruit trees. I have always considered my orchard a very dear and personal gift from God. And yet, in the middle of winter, they look so lifeless.

How often do we plant and sow and till the ground in our children? It is a constant job for a loving parent. And yet there are seasons when things seem so lifeless. Days when it seems like we get no where at all. Seasons where we wonder if God knew what He was doing entrusting these images of Himself to us. And then. All of a sudden. Spring appears once again, and soon harvest. As long as we don’t give up.

I know from watching my orchard that apple trees will produce apples. Some seasons may produce more fruit than others, but apple trees WILL produce apples. And love and truth will produce love and truth. It just takes a little faith to get through the dead of winter.

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. Hebrews 11:1

Penny Raine is a mother to 8 and a preacher’s wife, she can be found blogging daily at PennyRaine.com/blog

*This is an excerpt of an article in Penny Raine’s free E-zine for mothers called Front Porch Fellowship that is sent once monthly, you can subscribe for free at her bookstore.

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Penny is a happily married preacher’s wife in TN. They have 8 children, a wonderful son in law, and a very fun grand-daughter. They live on a horse farm in mid TN, and she draws from her family life and her relationship with the Lord in all that she writes. Penny writes for several publications and blogs, but she is most blessed just to be used by Jesus. You can find Penny daily over at her personal blog and at her bookstore

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