Harvesting the Figs

"Now in the morning, when He returned to the city, He became hungry. And seeing a lone fig tree by the road, He came to it, and found nothing on it except leaves only; and He said to it, 'No longer shall there ever be any fruit from you.' And at once the fig tree withered." Matt. 21:18-19

Unlike the lone fig tree in Matthew 21, I have been blessed with a large fig tree and some surrounding smaller fig trees. I wonder if the fig variety in the Bible story was one that needed cross pollination? If that were the case, you might look at the story with a somewhat different perspective. Maybe there is a message that we can't be fruitful if we try to go it alone.

At our house, with our small family of trees, each year's harvest of figs is different. Some years, I am out of town and the birds get them, but other years the neighbors (one of whom we call "Big Bird") or passers by sneak in while my back is turned and reduce the harvest.

This year I was watchful, delayed my vacation, and we harvested a bumper crop.

The problem with having so many figs come in all at once is that no one can eat them all.

Give him credit for trying.

With such a mighty surplus, the kitchen was turned into a cannery, and forty-five jars of preserves were made by the helpful kitchen gnomes. Most of those jars will be given away except for the few set aside for the chief cook and bottle washer.

Bless the Lord for this fruitful harvest!