Last fall I wrote about my disappointment that our crab apple trees bore no fruit.
I realize that in the United States, most people probably think of the crab apples as ornamental fruit. (Some really are too sour to eat!) But when you find a variety of crab apple that is not too small, and not too sour, then you’ll find that the flavor of that tart apple, once sweetened, is an intense joy!
My grandmother who immigrated from Germany in the 1920’s used to make crab apple jelly. I didn’t know her well, but my dad told me the legends of her cooking; and so when our trees finally bore fruit, I set out to try it for myself. I created an experience with that first tasting that has stuck with our family ever since:
I made cinnamon french toast from our homemade bread, slathered it with melting butter, then covered that with fresh, hot-pink crab apple jelly; then I put a mound of whipped cream on top, sprinkled with pieces of deep red pomegranate. The look and aroma of a dish can really enhance the experience, but the taste was absolutely incredible. Every year’s first taste of the crab apple jelly brings it all back!
I thought last year was to be our last year here, and the loss of the whole crabapple experience–seemed doubly hard to bear. For more than 20 years, those two trees have surprised us with their bounty, including one year when they bore so heavily that the branches broke down and nearly destroyed the tree!
Every spring, we waited for the “spring open”; the blossom opening, that is. We would spend the morning trying to photograph the bees that came after the nectar. They would almost go crazy, rushing from blossom to blossom, frantic to get there before the other bees drained the flowers.
I don’t know how many species of bees and wasps circled those blossoms on the first warm day in the sun, but it was a lot. After we got pictures, Tony would look up each kind up on the hymenoptera section of http://www.bugguide.net, and then he would teach the rest of us about all the different ways a bee or a wasp could live. (Yes, we still do that on occasion.)
Picture-taking during the “spring open” is a sensory experience: the delicious aroma, the glory of the sun reflecting off the white blossoms, the sounds of their wings of so many insects in such tight quarters, and the varied shape and color of the flowers in all stages of opening!
I remember one year when both Beau and the trees were young, when he brought a small chair to sit under the tree, waiting for us to finish taking pictures. The branches hung almost to the ground around him, as if he was surrounded by pink-and-white flowered walls. The sun filtered through, making his golden curls glow, and I remember how he laughed up at me.
Alas, the picture is only in my mind!
But we are still here, and what a year it is turning out to be for the crab apples!
I thought maybe God paused the crabapples last year because we had so much to do, but if that was it, then why are they so plentiful this year? (Maybe they just needed a rest from all that producing!) I don’t really understand, but I am gratified to see (and smell) lots of blossoms, with the promise of fruit!
When I saw the absolute bounty this year, I remembered a passage from Isaiah:
Sing, O barren, thou that didst not bear; break forth into singing, and cry aloud, thou that didst not travail with child: for more are the children of the desolate than the children of the married wife, saith the Lord. . .For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee. In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer. (Isaiah 54: 1, 7-8)
I realize this passage is talking about a barren woman, not a barren tree. And it is also a symbolic passage, speaking to the children of Israel, who were exiled in a foreign land, away from inheritance they had been promised. But it reminded me because of the underlying principle of the passage: God will never abandon us, no matter how bad things get, or how they look right now.
We don’t always know why things break, or why our expectations are not rewarded the way we expect. Sometimes those expectations are based on a dream of our own, and sometimes they exist because of the way things are for others. Our expectations may even be based on the way things have been, in the past, for ourselves. But it always hurts to be disappointed.
God is sovereign, and does not have to explain Himself to us. There are times when He correct us for sinning against Him, just as a loving human father will correct his son or daughter. (Except God is perfect and his correction is always just and merciful!)
But there are also times when we haven’t done anything against God, and He allows us to suffer hardship, anyway. Some of that hardship might be persecution because of our belief in Jesus Christ; but some of it comes because this earth is no longer “good,” like it was in the beginning. Evil exists in the world now, and those toxic effects can harm any one of us.
But God did not abandon us to the consequences of Adam’s sinful choice. Jesus came to make all things new! He came to set us free from our bondage to the sin that is forcing us toward death. Jesus conquered death; God raised Him to life and gave Him dominion over all things. And when we follow our Lord Christ, He calls us His brothers and sisters, and we follow Him into His inheritance!
“So now Jesus and the ones he makes holy have the same Father. That is why Jesus is not ashamed to call them his brothers and sisters.” (Hebrews 2:11 NLT)
But before He went to the cross, and before He was given dominion over all things in heaven and earth, Jesus told the following to his disciples, though I am sure they did not fully understand it:
“Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” (Luke 12:32)
Know who you are, brothers and sisters! Don’t be discouraged, or put off when something doesn’t happen the way you expect or hope that it will. God loves you, has planned for you from before you were born, and will carry it through to the end. He will carry you all the way to when you are old and gray!
Be strong in the knowledge of the truth, that you are loved more than you understand, that you are chosen and you have a future in God’s kingdom. Don’t ever give that up! There is no substitute that can hold a candle to your inheritance!
Remember to reach out to your brothers and sisters here on earth, to help, and to comfort and as God gives you the ability. Don’t be ashamed to accept what they offer you, either, for we all need each other. How wonderful that we are never alone!
Enjoy this beautiful week as you trust in God’s faithfulness, my dear friends! I am praying for you–much love to you!
The Fullers Four 