All Is Not Lost

As you are well aware, at least if you live in South Texas, this summer was brutal! I don't have a particularly green thumb to begin with, and even with ideal conditions, the survival of my plants is tenuous at best. I do try, however, to keep my Meyer Lemon trees going. The lemons that come off those trees are the absolute best for using in any kind of baked goods... just the right combination of sweet and tart.

I thrilled at the site of those branches jam-packed with fragrant buds this spring. It was going to be a bumper crop; I just knew it! I babied those two trees through the drought ridden months, soaking them daily, but the heat was just too much for them. Still, they set fruit and, despite the harsh conditions, the fruit grew large. I almost couldn't contain my excitement, but the fruit never ripened. The weight of them even began to break some of the smaller branches. I thought surely the fruit would ripen soon, but, alas... nothing doing.

I waited until I had lost all hope. It was time to harvest those lemons before they left their branches in shreds. I shook my head at each cut. The brilliant yellow, so characteristic of the fruit, was only visible on the tops where the sun had scorched them. They were still hard as rocks. I gathered the fruit into a basket, lugging it into the house under its weight. I wasn't ready to let them go. The compost pile could wait a few days while I at least admired them sitting on my counter, faint citrusy smell wafting each time I walked past.

After a couple of days I picked one up, and to my surprise, it wasn't quite as solid as it had been. Could it be that, even green, they could be ripening? Best to take a wait and see approach, I figured. I gave it another week then cut one open. Ahhhh... the scent was heavenly, but would the taste match? I braved a lick. Oh, the sheer joy. The taste was spot on!

Those fifty or so lemons yielded almost a quart of juice. What lovely lemon curd they will make!

I thought all was lost. It was not.

I wonder how God looks at us as He diligently tends His garden. We are His prize creation, after all. He has the highest hopes for each of us. However, the circumstances of existing and flourishing in this fallen world can take a toll on ripening fruit. Sometimes we get burned, our hearts become hardened, our ripening comes to a screeching halt.

This Gardener is not as impatient as I am. He knows. All is not lost. He is willing to wait... as long as it takes for the heart to soften, the fruit to sweeten. He still has plans for us... good and perfect plans, so He tends, and He waters, and He waits. Oh, the joy... His joy, incomprehensible when the hardened, scorched soul softens, for the Father is not willing that any one of His creation...

be lost.

"For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus." - Philippians 1:6