Love rises out of downed apple trees

Some of you may have noticed the wind storms that have come our way in the last few weeks. The strength of each storm varied depending upon where you lived.

Some places hardly felt the wind, and other places experienced a lot of damage from it. As I drove to Royal City to preach one Sunday, I noticed that many of the apple trees had been blown over.

It was amazing to see one row of apple trees on the ground and the next row standing up. I was fascinated by the wind’s ability to do that.

My heart went out to the farmers because I knew they would experience monetary loss. I also knew a lot of hard work went into cultivating the trees, and that was also lost.

Leviticus 23:22 says: “And when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap all the way to the edges of your field, or gather the gleanings of your harvest; you shall leave them for the poor and the stranger: I the Lord am your God.”

One Royal City apple farmer did just that. He turned his loss into other people’s gain. He opened up his fields and allowed people in to glean apples from the fallen trees.

My husband and I took our family and went into his apple orchard. I grew up on a farm, and my first reaction was one of devastation.

I know that farming comes with risks but, as I stood there in the middle of 20 acres of downed apples trees, I was sad. I felt compassion for the farmer but also for the living trees that had been so thoroughly destroyed.

It was my three year old granddaughter who helped me find the joy in the situation. I had given her a shopping bag.

Excitedly she went under trees and over wires picking up apples and putting them in her bag. She had a great time doing it.

My daughter was able to teach her the difference between a good apple and a bad one. A lot of learning was happening in that damaged field.

This apple picking experience was something my granddaughter and I will remember for a long time. In a thriving orchard, a three year old would never have been able to have the experience of picking apples. She reminded me that there is good in everything if we look for it.

By opening his farm up for others, this apple farmer was practicing Christian love for others. That is what God wants all of us to do; care for other people. If you are in a place where you have extra and can share it with others, then do it.

God blesses those who care for others, and this farmer will surely be blessed. Come to think of it, he’s already truly blessed with the knowledge Jesus imparted to him.

He is in my prayers.

As for me, I now have apple butter, applesauce, apple pie, apple cobbler…well, you get the idea.