Reborn

April 26, 2023

That poor old fig tree. It has served us well for decades but, well, it’s getting old. I noticed last year several dead branches that I’d need to prune off and, like it’s younger neighboring fig tree, it also had branches going in wayward directions. Especially on the older tree, figs were growing beyond what I could reach with my tallest ladder.

A couple months ago I did the necessary pruning. In all, I trimmed off about one fifth of the old tree’s branches, and maybe ten percent from the younger tree. I knew this year’s crop would suffer a little because of the pruning, but it had to be done.

Both fig trees put on beautiful green leaves in March, as usual. They didn’t seem to mind the pruning. Then, about about a month ago, while the leaves were still tender, disaster hit. We had an unseasonal heavy frost. It wilted the top few leaves of the smaller fig tree, but the older, taller fig tree was hit harder. The top third of its leaves were killed, and eventually turned brown and dropped to the ground. Would it survive? Would the frost combine with the heavy pruning to put the old tree down?

Week after week the top of the tree looked dead.

Miraculously, now the old fig tree has put on new leaves at the top! They are a month behind the other leaves, but the tree has survived.

Sometimes we may liken ourselves to that old fig tree. It’s true! We’ve served the Lord well for decades, then God makes drastic changes in our lives that we must struggle through. Just when we think we’ll be okay, disaster hits. As the Stephen Curtis Chapman song says, “Don’t lose heart!” As long as we have breath, we can be fruitful in God’s service.

“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me.” Psalm 23:4