One of the "downs" of buying our house was that there was a tall, city-owned lamppost next to our driveway. Tyler can't stand light pollution so this was a serious factor to consider. Fortunately, the way our windows are situated it doesn't affect us inside much, and Tyler reasoned that he could plant a great big pine tree.
Reality: pine trees are expensive. And when it is one of eleven trees that you are planting all at once, you can't afford to get the nice seven or eight foot tree you envisioned. Last fall we came home with a three foot pine tree, and it still felt like we had to break the bank to buy it.
Jump ahead to this spring. We had a gorgeous day and I was out inspecting all of the new trees, clipping suckers and surveying growth. What a thrill it was to find one or two peaches & nectarines on our various tiny trees! Wow! The little pine tree is what gave us a bit of a scare. It was COVERED in little tiny green balls. What dismay we had to think that we bought a pine cone factory! They were interesting, though, so over the weeks we kept checking them out. A couple weeks ago Tyler was out mowing the lawn, and as the creek was running dangerously high I was out front keeping an eye on Drew. I plopped down next to our tiny pine tree and started looking at the mysterious "pine cones", but they were getting awfully long and looking like...pine needles! What we thought was pine cones was really new growth, and loads of it! Relief over not having pine cones, and excitement that our little tree was flourishing just made my day.
We were so tickled over our happy tree that was obviously flourishing. I mean, it was covered in growth that was almost two inches long! I felt like I was on cloud nine for days. I smile every time I look at it. What a thing perspective is. We are doing cartwheels over two inches of growth when what we really want is a tree ten feet taller than what we've got. This has been a thought-provoking experience for me. We're happy because our tiny tree is progressing. Sure it has a looong way to go, but it's headed in the right direction and we can tell that just by looking at it. Our fruit trees that we hope to yield bushels from in years to come are pleasing us with one or two pieces of fruit for the year. What a good reminder to me that even though I'm in the earliest stages of what I hope to become, and where my Heavenly Father knows my potential is, that He really still can be happy with my "two inches" of growth -- as long as it's in the right direction.
6 comments:
I'm so glad you shared this! It got me thinking . . . :)
You're right... perspective is a funny thing. There was a time when my Dad's parents would have been thrilled to have had a "pine cone factory!" They used to contract with the forestry service and would go into the mountains of Colorado in the fall and harvest pine cones. They would then process the cones to remove the seeds and sell them to the forestry service so that they could plant trees when they were needed.
I understand your side of it though... they can be such a mess!!!
Congratulations on the success of your little trees!
good one, hon.
Great comparison to Heavenly Father's view of us- nice. It made me think about the pine trees my brothers and I planted in my parents back yard when we were kids. (we got them free from school ;) And boy, it must be 20 years later, they are taller than the house and the roots are overcoming the yard something terrible! My Dad's beside himself trying to figure how to cut them down but can't bring himself to do so because of the memories! What potential we do have!
That was beautiful! Thanks for sharing such a perfect story to teach this lesson.
I'm glad I read this post because it gave me a spiritual thought for the day - that may otherwise not have had one. Also, we are starting our landscaping and gardening and I know how exciting this growth thing is. I love watching vegetation in it's early stages!
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