lemon tree

What you are looking at is a lemon tree in my parents’ backyard. I know you’re probably thinking, “Who cares?” Don’t worry, this isn’t a blog post about simply a lemon tree, but the reminder that God gave me while looking at the lemon tree. I came home to visit the family for the holidays and my favorite spot at my parents’ house is the patio. There is nothing spectacular about our backyard, but I’ve always found it very peaceful and a lot of previous blog post have also stemmed from it. My grandmother (who passed away a little over a year ago), started a garden in the backyard. I often would sit out there and read while my grandmother would work in the garden. It was just a spot that I loved to sit and spend time with the Lord any time I was home. This time while I was home, I noticed something that I hadn’t the last few times. The lemon tree. Before my grandmother passed away, she planted the tree that you see in the picture along with a couple of others back in her garden. She planted a lot back there ranging from tomatoes, collard greens, & cucumbers, to lemon and peach trees. I’ve always noticed the garden out there of course, but nothing that resembled a tree. I googled and found out that lemon trees take anywhere between two to seven years to sprout and start to grow. I was reminded of a couple of things. The first thing that I was reminded of was… I don’t have enough patience to start a garden. The second thing, a little more important, was God just wants us to be obedient. There’s a lot in this life that we will not know… but one thing I know for sure is that God wants us to make disciples (Matthew 28: 19-20). If you’ve been following Jesus, you know that sometimes it is a little awkward and uncomfortable to share the truth of Jesus. We (especially me) put the weight on our shoulders by thinking that we have to change the person. We have to say the perfect thing to make that person love Jesus with their entire heart, mind, soul, and strength… but in reality, I just have to be obedient and remember that God is doing the work. A week or so ago I had the opportunity to ask The Perry’s a question about helping others see their need for Jesus when presenting the gospel. One part of Jackie’s answer that stood out, that I know but always seem to forget, is no matter how clear I present the Gospel, if the Holy Spirit doesn’t do a work, they will remain blind. Jackie said, “I don’t put too much hope in my own language, or words, or persuasion… I have to trust that the Spirit of God is the One who will utilize the scripture that I use.” All of that basically to say again is, ya girl is impatient :/

Okay, back to the lemon tree. The times I visited, I never noticed or even knew that there was going to be a tree growing in this spot in my parents’ backyard, but I clearly see now that seeds have been planted. The same way that it takes time for that lemon tree to grow, is possibly the same amount of time for diligent work of sharing the gospel. I may talk so much about Jesus all day long and not see immediate fruit, but I must trust that God is doing something with the seeds that are being planted. Luke 13:6-9 is one that came to mind as I typed this. 6 And he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. 7 And he said to the vinedresser, ‘Look, for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down. Why should it use up the ground?’ 8 And he answered him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure. 9 Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’” I love this because it is a reminder that we have to have patience when sharing the Gospel. He came seeking fruit on it and found none. I can’t tell how often I seek for people I’ve shared the Gospel with to have that aha moment and it didn’t happen. He went for three years and was ready to cut the tree down because there wasn’t any fruit and honestly, I easily relate. The vinedresser then says be patient, let me do some things… be patient. Now, I’m not saying after a few years you should just give up with sharing with people, but, I do believe that we must be patient and continue to be diligent in what we are called. As we continue to plant seeds, we must continue to remember that God is going to do what He is going to do. Soon enough, maybe even when you least expect it, a tree with fruit might pop up and surprise you.

With love,

KB