Redbud Blossoms and Fig Trees
“Then [Jesus] told this parable: A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came looking for fruit on it and found none. So he said to the gardener, ‘See here! For three years, I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree, and still, I find none. Cut it down! Why should it be wasting the soil?’ He replied, ‘Sir, let it alone for one more year, until I dig around it and put manure on it. If it bears fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’”—Luke 13:6-9.
There is a wild redbud tree outside my office window with beautiful pink budding flower clusters close to the stem in the spring. The tree is in the middle of a line of wild bushes and hardwood trees. For several years, I saw no new life on it. Then, one spring, when I was outside, I noticed these beautiful blossoms and wondered where they were coming from.
When I returned to my office, I could not find the tree. Then I looked up from my desk. There they were, high above the other trees. The tree was flowering only in the canopy above my window. Lower down in my direct vision, there were no blossoms. It gave me pause, and I determined to stop during the day to look up from my line of sight—to interrupt my work to glance away and take in the beauty of the blossoms.
One more lesson from my blossoming redbud tree: It has divided into three parts near its trunk. For years, it only one division seemed alive and flowering. The other two large sections had no leaves or blossoms. But this year, I notice that clusters of blooms have formed at the top of the middle division.
I am reminded of the fig tree in the Gospels. Jesus calls us to be patient and expectant. Our challenge is waiting for what appears dead to discover if it may still be alive and capable of producing beauty and fruit.
Do not give up hope. New life continues to grow out of what seems dead. Nature keeps telling us this over and over again if we only stop, look, and listen.
Joanna https://www.joannaseibert.com/
RELEASE PARTY FOR LETTERS FROM MY GRANDFATHER
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 5, 10 TO 12.
27 RIVER RIDGE ROAD, LITTLE ROCK 72227
EMAIL TO RESERVE A BOOK. joannaseibert@me.com
A pediatric physician, an Episcopal deacon, a mother, grandmother, and author of ten other books on spirituality, shares letters from her grandfather after she left home. She responds to his letters in the present time, giving insight into two decades of unconditional love. $20 all proceeds go to Camp Mitchell.
