STORMS

Last night and this morning’s storm came in like a million hammers. I always dread this part of the season because I’m inevitably dealing with a lot of fallen trees in its wake. I found that one of our apple trees had been uprooted sometime during the night.

I stood on my front lawn surveying the damage and thought on the work I’d have to do to clean it up. It was an apple tree. And it once produced fruit that I enjoyed at one time but over the years it had grown sickly and the fruit it did produce became shriveled, withered and not edible by any means.

As I stood there the thought occurred to me, “Every good tree produces good fruit, but a bad tree produces bad fruit. Every tree that produces bad fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them.” - Matthew 7:17-20

And this was my plan, to cut it up and eventually use it as firewood. It served its purpose but eventually stopped. I knew this tree was already sickly and that its fruit was no longer good but it was something I didn’t want to deal with because, well life. And I’ve got other things to deal with. It caused me to take a good look at myself, the withered fruit in my life that I don’t want to deal with. And quite frankly the pruning my Father asks of me. Go about it willingly now or go about it the hard way later when the shears and the storms come to prune. Life.