On Saturday I was driving through South Jersey. Some parts of this state are really beautiful…rolling hills, greenery, corn blowing in the wind, peach trees laden with fruit. I drove through places that I have only seen on maps. It was really pretty.
As I was driving along, I was awed by God’s majesty. But something I saw made me sad. I saw rows and rows and rows of peach trees with lots of peached–I saw a lot of fruit–but I saw no evidence that anyone was tending to the orchard. You have to make sure that the trees are pruned. You have to make sure that the area underneath the trees is tended to. You have to make sure that the fruit is at the right time. Then the fruit has to be sent to market so that people can eat the fruit, benefitting from the nutrients, the fiber, the sugar.
Sunday while I was in church I was contemplating fruit. There are so many Christians who have all sorts of fruit ripening on their trees, on their vines. Some people are afraid of their fruit. Some people are afraid of the process wherein the fruit is removed from the tree. If fruit is not picked in due season, the fruit wil rot. Rotting fruit is stinky. Rotting fruit attracts all kinds of bugs, rodents, things that you would not welcome into your house.
There is more to follow on this train of thought. But for now, I must get some sleep.
Deneen White 