To Kill an Apple Tree
My husband, Lee, and I lived for many, many years on a 100-acre farm in Western Pennsylvania that had been in Lee’s family since the early 1940’s. The winters at The Farm were not easy; in fact, to say they were “real” is an understatement! One particularly-hard winter, we actually ended up losing several of the fruit trees that had been established and producing for many years along with many beautiful, ornamental bushes that had been in our flower beds for close to 15 years. As we walked around our property after springtime finally came, we could make no sense of what had happened – there was no real pattern to the random destruction …. more-delicate plantings that we were sure wouldn’t make it did, and some more-hearty plantings didn’t survive.
In our wandering, we ventured toward an old apple tree stump in the front yard. Atone time, on that very spot, stood a remarkable, old tree that produced the best little green apples with a pink blush. For over 70 years, one Thompson or another had used those apples to make marvelous apple jelly, and that tree had been there for who knows how many years before that! With sadness, we remembered that back in the summertime, the wind had a goat that tree and had broken off several of the limbs. It was certainly compromised, and we had felt bad. We had hoped that it would get re-established, but those hopes were dashed when our resident bear ventured to the bird feeder that was shaded by that tree one night; and as he was swatting at the feeder to get seeds out, he managed to push against the tree enough to completely break it off. I’ll never forget waking up in the night to a tremendous crash and the sadness we felt as our flashlight inspected the crash zone only to discover that the tree did not survive.
We got over it, for we knew we must. Throughout the winter, we had talked of
replacing the old tree and thought of a Redbud or a Dogwood perhaps. In our spring time wandering, we came upon the stump, and we fairly amazed! There at its base was a new, green sprout! Time had passed by since the incident with the bear ~ the summer had gone, so too had the fall, and there was nothing. The winter had hit with a vengeance, and many things had died; but, in fact, the hardness of the winter had somehow brought life to that old stump!
How like our lives I thought! At times, it seems like what comes against us comes all at one time – Illness, death, people problems, money problems, you name it, it comes. There is seemingly no real pattern to it either. We admit that we are broken a bit, but we conclude that have gotten through tough times before, we can do it again; however, just when we think that maybe we can get re-established, here comes a bear of a blow that pushes against us and just topples us over with a resounding crash. Time passes and it feels as if our spirits are dead; but somehow, deep within us, God stirs a new springtime of our soul, and life comes to our spirits once again! Praise God!
In Psalm 42, David is in distress, much has come against him, and he prays to God fora revival of his spirit. He actually is expectant that God will revive it! In the last verse of that beautiful Psalm he says, “why art thou cast down, O my soul? And why art thou disquieted within me? Hope thou in God, for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.” John Wesley, in his notes on this particular Psalm, says “therefore, that I may revive my drooping spirit … I consider thy infinite mercy and power, and faithfulness.”
As I think of the episode of our old apple tree and the wonderful new, fresh start all those years ago, I am reminded that killing an apple tree is not so easy. More-importantly, I am reminded of the wonderful power and faithfulness of God! Our spirits are not easy to kill either! When all seems lost, yet He is there and working within us a new, fresh start as well!
Rev. Stephanie Thompson
Presiding Elder, Asheville and Franklin Districts