Just Peachy - Mandy Winkle
One of my favorite possessions is my little peach tree in my back yard. Some of you, who know me, are nodding your heads up and down and smiling, as you have an extensive collection of pictures that I have sent you of my tree as it has grown over the years. Proud mammas always share pictures of their babies! My oldest son took special interest in my little tree. He helped me pick out the best spot to plant it, helped me dig the hole, and dutifully read the instructions tag about how to care for the tree. He even volunteered to water it every day for me.
So for 9 months (see it really is like a baby!) we carefully watered it, covered it when the storms came, and watched it grow. One morning in the Spring, we noticed these little buds on the tree! It was soon after we had the most beautiful white and pink flowers! My son and I were going to have fruit for our labor. We were so excited!
Much planning went into what to do with our first harvest. We knew for sure we were going to give our first fruit pickings away. We wanted to honor the Lord with first fruits of our increase. Harvest day had come, and we marched out to the tree and picked five of the tiniest little peaches you have ever seen! The much-anticipated harvest wasn’t a big one at all, but we knew it would grow.
Over the next few years our peach harvests did grow in number and in size. That first year 5, then the next 15, then 60! Each year our little tree was attacked by a ground invasion of ants and an aerial assault of birds, too. Everyone wanted a piece of our hard-earned fruits.
Then in 2021 came that massive winter storm that shut down Texas for a week! We were all snuggled warm in our home, safe from the elements but my brave little tree was exposed. That Spring our state lost many trees and shrubs. My son and I waited patiently to see if our tree was going to bloom. It was a joyous day when we saw the buds start to sprout from the branches. Our “Lil Peachy” had survived!
A couple of years later (last year) we had the biggest harvest we have ever seen! Over 500 peaches harvested! The fruit was so numerous, the branches broke from under the weight. My son put chairs and ladders under the tree to help support the load. I spent days blanching, peeling, cutting and freezing quart bags full of peaches! It was a lot of work, but very satisfying to be able to make fresh peach cobbler that winter.
Fast forward to this February when my tree started to bud. It’s not uncommon for Texas to have warm winters and early springs, so I didn’t think anything of it. The harvest came, a sizeable one, but definitely smaller than last year’s. My peach pickers were bringing in peaches every day, but I was not processing them very fast. I was busy with other things and assumed the peaches would keep until I was ready to deal with them. Honestly, the excitement of having a peach tree had faded and I was feeling the burden of the work involved. To my shame, I had to throw away a couple of bowls of peaches that had sat too long. They had grown a fuzzy mold. That verse in Proverbs about the slothful not roasting what he took in hunting rang loudly in my mind and heart. The peaches also were smaller and had holes and weak spots in them. I may have been lax in processing them, but there was a definite difference in the fruit from the previous years.
I took a bucket out the next day determined to pick the rest of the peaches from this year’s harvest before any more critters got them. I cried as I picked through the tree trying to find peaches that were not pecked by birds, consumed by ants that had easy access to the drooping branches or away from the wasps that had set up a nest in the tree. Two of the tallest branches were completely barren of leaves and everything – they were dead. This tree was a mess, and I was broken hearted. How could my tree be doing so poorly?
I went back inside and started researching Lil Peachy’s symptoms. I discovered I had missed a very important part of being a peach tree farmer – pruning. I had let the tree grow unchecked for problems that might cause issues later. I never cut away the overgrowth. I had become a poor steward of my tree.
The Holy Spirit began to speak to my heart and great conviction swept over me. I had neglected this tree. It had become weak and unable to fight off the enemy’s assaults.
Remember when you were a new Christian? Remember the joy and excitement came so easily as you made changes and grew? You started to bear fruit! Could anything be more wonderful?! Inevitably, you faced attacks from the devil, bore the criticism of your growth and weathered the storms. But as the years came and went, your boughs became heavy, and it was hard to hold up your branches. You may have even gotten support for your load, but eventually, you became weak and tired and susceptible to attacks. You let your guard down and some of your branches may have even been broken. We’ve all been there. I have been there.
John 15:2 says, “Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.” Barren branches get taken away, fruit bearing branches get pruned. Why? To bring forth more fruit. That is what we, as Christians, are supposed to do – bring forth fruit.
As unpleasant as a good pruning sounds, cutting away, trimming, etc. it is most beneficial to the tree. First, it strengthens the branches so the tree can support future, larger crops. Secondly, pruning allows the sunlight to reach the fruit that helps the health of the fruit. Thirdly, pruning encourages new branches to grow. New fruit grows best on new branches. Fourthly, pruning away dead branches reduces the risk of disease and pests and promotes healthy airflow through the tree. If your mind is already making the spiritual connections here, you are on the right track!
John 15:1 tells us our Father is the husbandman. I failed as a caretaker of my little peach tree this past year, but God never fails us! He knows exactly what needs to be trimmed. The Holy Spirit nudges your heart in the invitation to go forward and deal with the conviction you received during the sermon. Go! Let the Lord prune off that little bit. After a trying day with your little ones, you are reminded that “a soft answer turneth away wrath…” so apologize to your loved ones, commit your tone and words to be God honoring and make the adjustment. A little snip here and a little snip there. If we are yielded to Him, he will make the cuts and trimming needed in our lives for growth. When pruning time comes for my little peach tree, I am going to have to make some BIG cuts. It’s going to be unpleasant for the tree (and me). If you allow the Lord to prune and purge you along the way, it’s going to be a lot easier to undergo.
Pruning takes away the bad and non-essential elements from our lives, but abiding in Christ is what makes our branches strong again. John 15:4 “Abide in me, and I you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.”
John 15:5 “I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.” What a sweet promise the Lord gives us that he will abide in us. You don’t have to go it alone.
With the proper care, my little tree will be strong and fruitful again, and If you allow the Lord to prune and you abide in him, you can be just peachy too.