Thursday.......6-19-25
Over in the far corner of our property stands a fig tree that has been a part of our landscape for at least eight years. It has been a patient little thing, quietly growing and just minding it's own business, but would you believe that in all of these years, it has never produced a single fig.
Year after year, I watched it leaf out in the Spring and it looked hopeful, but not a single piece of fruit ever came.
Until.....this....year!!
To my absolute delight, this summer it surprised me with an abundance of figs. Honestly, I had to do a double take when I first saw the fruit.
So what changed? Sunshine!!!
For the longest time, it was overshadowed by a big mimosa tree that stood nearby. The fig tree never got enough sunlight to truly thrive. But then a few years ago, the Big Texas ice storm swept though and damaged the mimosa tree. A large section had to be cut back. Finally, the sunlight pours in and our Fig tree is totally happy.
(Oh wow y'all.....God keeps speaking these little lessons in me, and the best thing is......these little lessons keep showing up in the simple things in my everyday life.)
Sometimes we are doing all we can.....we are rooted, we are growing and we are hanging in there.....but yet, nothing seems to be fully blooming. The fruit we were expecting just doesn't come and we feel as if we are on the edge of giving up.
BUT....what if the problem isn't us? What if we are not blooming, simply because we are too busy standing in the shade? Sometimes we need a little more light, a little more Sonshine, and a little more space to grow into what we were made to do and to be.
The lesson I got from this is: Don't give up on something just because it's taking longer than we thought it should take. There just might be a huge harvest waiting for us on the other side.
Questions we need to ask ourselves:
1. Is there something in my life that I've been tempted to give up on too soon?
2. Where might I need more light? Where might I need more truth?
3. How has God been preparing me in ways I didn't even notice?
###My lesson from the Fig tree.....
shug.
Oh my gosh I love this. You were waiting and didn't give up. The fig was waiting and didn't give up. Then God took over and said the time was right. And there it is.
ReplyDeleteA great analogy!
ReplyDeleteA wonderful lesson for us all.
ReplyDeleteI love how you can find these life lessons in simple things.
ReplyDeleteYou find the best lessons in life! Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful life lesson today, Shug. Your blog is always so nourishing!! I'm glad your little fig tree is producing and living up to her potential. ~Andrea xoxo
ReplyDeleteSo happy you got some figs growing. This actually reminds me of an episode on The Chosen, and it talks about the fig tree. It's called "I Saw You." I hope this tree produces nice and ripe figs for you in time. Figs are so yummy. A little sunshine, and there it is starting to grow. And everything happens in God's time.....so we wait. ; )
ReplyDelete~Sheri
Such a fantastic analogy and lesson in the fig tree, Shug. Those last questions are so important to ask ourselves, too. Blessings!
ReplyDeleteWe had a fig tree that yielded many figs for us for a few years and then it stopped last year. My husband refused to give up and would water it but quite frankly it looked dead to me. It is a mystery why it just up and died. Finally my husband accepted its demise and pulled it out of the ground easily, signifying how dead it was. No life lesson that I can think of other than, sometimes you just have to accept reality.
ReplyDeleteI love the three questions. I will answer them on my blog!
What an awesome lesson from your fig tree. I need ALL the Sonshine I can get, for sure.
ReplyDeleteGoing out to breakfast with Mark and family for our final meal together and then its fly away home..
Sue
love the lesson, love the photos and the figs and tree. wow
ReplyDeleteNow I want to compile a scrapbook containing all your wonderful Life Lessons. Thank you for shining on all of our lives!
ReplyDeletethecontemplativecat here. What joy that must have been! thanks for the photos. We all need the Light to survive.
ReplyDelete