God did make the little red apples

The red apple harvest from our tree in the grand-sounding ‘orchard’ is in. It is so satisfying to bite into a sweet, juicy apple, knowing no pesticides touched it, and no plastic was involved in its transportation to my kitchen.

I came back from the supermarket with many things encased in plastic. Fish from the fish counter (I should have taken my own container); a handful of nectarines; pate and hummus, orange juice. Much more.

What’s to be done? For me, a bigger investment in thoughtful shopping, planning ahead, finding alternatives. For us all, louder clamouring for options in the markets, so we can fill up our own containers and choose loose produce.  

This week, I’ve been reminded of how the Lord is intimately involved in our daily lives; he has answered two major things which I’ve been praying about in surprising, even delightful, ways. That is encouraging me to say with conviction, we should all be asking him to help us as individuals to live more sustainably, so that we make less of an impact on this wounded earth of his.

Expectantly, we should listen for his whisper. He wants to partner with us in this.

Isn't it beautiful?

A month ago, our cherry trees were literally dripping with cherries, which for some reason the pigeons ignored. Freezer full now, some jam made, many cherries didn’t get picked. I just couldn’t reach.

Now I look out and the apple trees are drooping towards the ground, so heavy is the fruit on their branches. Big, healthy-looking apples, not yet ready, but when they are, there will be apple butter, crumbles, pies, sauce.

Even the plum tree, which has never done much, has a healthy crop beginning to ripen.

And yet, the raspberries were poor quality and scarce. The strawberries were small, though sweet. There aren’t many blueberries.

I’m no horticulturist, but it’s evident that weather conditions which bless some fruits, harm others.

So it is with people. A climate of corruption can encourage some to let their integrity flower and grow fruit to feed those whose hope is waning. Or it can tempt people to participate in corruption.

We are not to live like people who have no hope, the Bible claims. When the storms of negativity, of fake news and alternative truth buffet our world, we are to look up. He who started a good work in us will not leave it incomplete. Filled with his Spirit of hope, the joy of the Lord as our strength, we are the cherry and apple trees in my garden, feeding the hungry poor.

This is the day the Lord has made. Isn’t it beautiful?

Eve and Apples

Would Eve have been tempted had the apple looked slightly odd? Perhaps the forbidden fruit she sampled looked perfect, but the only nourishment it offered was deadly. Whereas these apples look rather weird, but they are juicy and sweet.

God told Samuel that whereas people judge each other by outward appearances, he judges by what’s in the heart. (And since we often don’t know what’s in another person’s heart, the best advice is not to judge at all!)

Apples of Wisdom

Cooking apples hang heavy on the tree, the promise of crumbles and pies and apple butter. The comforting tastes of autumn as temps begin to drop and winds begin to rise. Already, though,  I anticipate the cramped hand and the discoloured fingers which accompany the hours of peeling, coring, and slicing necessary to transform the raw fruit into tasty treats. 

Some fruit needs processing, and that takes time and effort. I’d like to just pick Patience off a tree, for instance, and make it my own characteristic, but it’s a cliché which I know to be true that when I ask for Patience I find myself plunged into challenging circumstances requiring reliance on the Holy Spirit. It’s a process, not an instant creation. 

Wisdom is another fruit that takes time and a divine touch. It comes with experience, but even those of us with years under our belts can’t rely totally on our experience. If I really want to live out my faith I need to keep a strong connection with God. The New Living Translation of the Bible says, ‘If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you...But when you ask him, be sure that your faith is in God alone.’ The temptation is to think that our years automatically convey wisdom, when the divine dependence is required throughout our lives.

Maybe it’s that recognition which is one of the first steps towards attaining wisdom.