Fruit, Farming and the Gardener

Today I had the opportunity to talk to some teens on fruit, farming and the gardener.

There were a few energetic boys who were sometimes disruptive.

That's in spite of my best efforts to deliver an engaging talk with tactile experiences.

I even brought in a branch from our back yard,

I handed it to each boy and invited them to "take one and pass it on."  

I asked if any of the boys knew which tree it came from.

None of them guessed it right.

City kids with not much grass time, let alone paddock time.

I asked one of the boys to squeeze the leaf.

"It smells like mango." 

Yes. 

The leaf bears the essence of the tree.

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And then one teen asked me, 

"How did you become a follower of Jesus?" 

To that I replied,

"I don't have time to share the whole story, but here's a short version. 

I remember the first time I was in grade 6, someone in grade 10 asked me,

'What do you think of Jesus?'

I didn't think too much and replied,

 'I think he is @#$^.'

That person then asked,

 'Well have you ever read the Bible?'

Little did I know within a year or two I thought very differently of Jesus. 

Now I am here to tell you about Jesus and what the Bible says about him."

That grade 10 teen, Michael, went on to impact many others with his love for Jesus. 

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Just yesterday I was pruning that mango tree in the back yard.

I didn't really know what I was doing but found ChatGPT's advice very helpful.

I learnt I needed to prune the shooters first, to control the height of the tree.

Cut back the long over-reach branches.

And then prune the tips of every fruiting branch.

All this would make it easier to reach the mangoes next season.

I found myself really liking the tree and the process of pruning.

It made me wonder about the years back when I resented gardening.

I always felt behind and I had other things worth more of my time to do.

As I trimmed the branches, back, I thought of John 15. 

“I am the Real Vine and my Father is the Farmer. He cuts off every branch of me that doesn’t bear grapes. And every branch that is grape-bearing he prunes back so it will bear even more. You are already pruned back by the message I have spoken.

I wonder what Michael would be thinking now.

Go man go.