Second-Season Fruit

Someone once said, you don't need to try and grow every plant in your garden. Not every seed you plant will sprout into a seedling. Some will never germinate. Some will try, but won't do anything more than use up the nutrients needed for the good seed. Some seedlings, even good ones, need to be thinned out so as to make room for the plants to grow to their full potential. There's just not time nor space to nurture every seed dropped into the soil of our garden of life.

Seeds may be dropped into our soil that are not meant to be there. They are not a part of our mission. They don't fit the purpose of our garden. They may be sown purposely by enemies or opposers to distract us, use up our resources, or wear us out. They may be sown innocently by those who think they are helping us, giving us something to do, yet they use up our time, energy and resources which are meant for other things. They may be sown by ourselves, out of guilt or an unrealistic sense of duty or obligation. Again, wasting our energy on something contrary to our destiny.

Once we identify and nurture the right seeds, our plants will grow and one day bear fruit. They could be edible fruit--berries or apples. They could be leaves we harvest for tea or nutrition. They could be the fragrance or beauty of flowers. They could be essential oils used for healing. Whatever the fruit of each plant, it will have a purpose that fits our life, our mission, our destiny.

Just as we don't need to nurture every seed into a plant, we don't harvest every fruit. Some fruit will be damaged by bugs, weather, or trauma, and we simply can't save it. Yet the lessons learned and the growth experienced by their loss is valuable. It isn't a waste. We gain valuable wisdom and knowledge to be used in the future, to help our garden or educate others.

As our garden grows, we enjoy the fragrances of some plants. We enjoy the visual effect of the garden--the contrast and balance of all of our plants together. We enjoy the taste and nourishment of the fruit, the healing of the oils and leaves. The garden brings us life. It nourishes, strengthens, and heals us. It teaches us. We work in our garden, like Adam or Even, and our work pays off in bringing us the blessing of all it has to offer, the fruit of it all in its many different forms.

However, just as we don't grow every seed, or harvest every plant, we don't consume all of the fruit ourselves. our garden gives us much more than we can use ourselves. Our garden grows, expands, multiplies. From a few seeds we reap much fruit. Year after year. Season after season. So we share our harvest with family, friends, and others. However, we must not let the joy of sharing consume us to the point where we forget to feed ourselves. Apart from fasting, which our winter seasons naturally provide, we must feed ourselves, harvest our seeds for replanting, or our gardens become barren.

This is when we begin to learn the lesson of second-season fruit. Before we know how to best offer our fruit to others, we must enjoy it for a season or two ourselves. Some fruit, leaves, smells, sights, oils, teas etc. need to be experienced by us for a while before we can offer a full, ripe, mature experience to others. What pairs well? When is the best time to harvest? How do we bring the best balance of beauty or taste? When is the nutritional level at its peak? The oil most potent and fragrant? We must experience and experiment ourselves with our own produce before we share with others and offer the best to them.

This is second-season fruit. Tried. Tested. Seasoned. We become seasoned ourselves. Experienced gardeners of our own soil. Knowing ourselves and lives well enough to offer our experiences, our history, the lessons we've learned, the knowledge and revelations, the understanding and wisdom, the failures and challenges, the victories and losses. We can teach, help, prepare, prevent, encourage, and guide others as they ask of us. As they come to our garden for a visit.

Of course, we don't force. We offer. And we don't deplete our own garden. We don't harvest too soon or out of season. We share at the proper time, in the proper way, properly prepared for the proper use.

Second-season fruit. You've waited until the full cycle of the plant has been completed. You've gone through all the seasons at least once. Nurturing, observing, experiencing, learning, and now you are seasoned in how to share this fruit with others. This prevents you from experimenting on others, and it teaches you how to fully appreciate your fruit. Try your fruit yourself first. Then, when you think its good, share it with your family--those who know you, love you, and can give you an honest opinion.

Don't offer it to others unless you'd give it to your own child. Don't offer it to your child, until you know its completely safe, nutritional, and healthy. Know your fruit. Know your life. Know the purpose of your garden. Wait until at least the second season so you what you have to offer is good and life-giving.