Fruit!

Like green candy dangling from the vine, the sugar snaps are ready to pick. Crisp and crunchy and sweet. What a joy to have this harvest while my other plants are still in their infancy.

This fruit is not a surprise. I planted and cared for these vines precisely for this purpose. But my plans and effort do not always yield fruit. There have been years when the seeds didn’t sprout, years when the plants struggled to produce, years when I have not been here to harvest the peas.

The lack of fruit in the past makes these peas taste even sweeter.

Like the first morning I woke up looking forward to the day ahead. It was more than a year after Nick had died. Covid was in full swing; the world was depressed, and I was just one more sad soul. I didn’t plant sugar snaps that year. I didn’t plant anything. But it was a gorgeous sunny day, and I was going to spend it at the lake, on a boat, by myself. And I was looking forward to it.

The warm sun, the gentle breeze, the chirping birds, and the ripples of water against the shore were a feast for the senses, a gift from God that had nothing to do with the presence or absence of others.

We try, in this life. We try to be faithful, we try to be good, we try to be kind and loving. We try to be successful, or wealthy, or popular. We try to be good parents and good friends. We plant seeds and hope that they will grow. We water and feed and support. And, sometimes, we think we have accomplished what we set out to do. Other times, the seeds don’t sprout, we aren’t fruitful, or we can’t enjoy our success when it comes.

And then God reminds us that He, and He alone, is the giver of all good things.

Do not say to yourself. “My power and the might of my own hand have gotten me this wealth.” But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth. Deuteronomy 8:17-18.

Occasionally, someone will taste one of my sugar snaps and want to grow their own. This is the best reward of all. You too can have this fruit in your life. It will take a little effort on your part, but it is so worth it. You will have failures and unproductive times, but when that fruit shows up, it is wonderful.

I pray the Holy Spirit bears such fruit in my life that others desire it and ask me how to grow it!

In your hearts sanctify Christ as Lord. Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and reverence. Keep your conscience clear, so that, when you are maligned, those who abuse you for your good conduct in Christ may be put to shame. 1 Peter 3:15-17.

I crunch on another sugar snap and let the sweetness fill my senses. God is so good in His gifts to the world. Sunshine, water, fruit, hope, joy, peace, and something to look forward to.

I hope you step outside today, soak in the sunshine and breeze, listen to the birds and skittering animals, and sense God’s presence and love. I pray you take His seeds, plant them in your life, and bear sweet fruit to share with the world.

You can’t do it on your own. Only God can do it and only when you let Him. A great harvest awaits and the fruit is sweet.

Love in Christ, Betsy