What do workers gain from their toil? I have seen the burden God has laid on the human race. He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart; yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end. Ecclesiastes 3 – read it all
When we first purchased this piece of land, one of the neighbors came by to give us some history on the parcel and inquire what our plans were. Robert (my husband) went into great detail describing the pecan orchard he planned to create in the “bottom 10”, which is how we refer to the acreage below the hill, basically a flood zone for a feeder creek that feeds into a much larger creek just a short distance from us. He also presented a vision of “the hilltop”, which is how we refer to the 3 acres where the house, barn, greenhouses, etc… reside – our yard, so to speak. Having much in common, separated only in ideas by decades of time – our neighbor, Bill, was much older than us – he shared his own small orchard with a quick tour. We both appreciated the knowledge, wisdom and many life experiences shared with us.
The trees in his orchard were still young and non-producing, and Bill voiced that he most likely would not live long enough to ever get a pecan from those trees. For some people, the thought process might look something like this… NO don’t say that… you have many more years ahead of you! Or if they didn’t believe that to be true they might think… Then why bother planting trees when you will never have the pleasure of gathering the ‘fruits’ of your labor?
I won’t go into the countless stories and poems surrounding this very topic – many of which include trees grown for the next generation to enjoy- which is not my real point at all, albeit a noble one.
Here’s a slightly different spin –
Yes, we love the idea of getting pecans from our own trees – and thankfully we’ve lived long enough in this place to see these trees produce. However, seeing an end result of production wasn’t the only goal, and maybe not even the primary. With any hefty project like this, there is much planning, lots of dreaming, unmentionable amounts of financial commitment and quite a bit of labor. The vision was fulfilled each and every day with every step in the process. To us, the spindly staked tree with its top cut off and an improved variety graft taped in place was just as beautiful as the lovely canapes we enjoy now. And 10 years from now, when the branches of all of the trees are reaching out to brush each other high above our heads, we’ll appreciate a new type of beauty. The park-like picture of grassy lanes between the rows will fade away as a shadowy forest replaces our view. As the trees grow, the massive grid spacing that looked ridiculous when the trees were the size of a dime in diameter will finally prove to be too close for comfort, meaning that some trees will be sacrificed for the greater good of the orchard – known as a “thinning”.
So back to the little block of verses from Ecclesiastes 3-
I try my best not to “cherry pick” from the Bible – not only because it’s annoying to see misquoted verses in memes and on facemask (aka facebook) posts and I don’t want to be part of that crowd– but also because so much is lost in scripture when taken out of context. Ecclesiastes is probably one of the most studied books in wisdom literature, and also the most misunderstood and misquoted…. and HERE I AM, trying to take 3 lines and explain the meaning of life to you and to myself. Actually I’m not going to do that. The point I’m wanting to make is that our nature is like God’s nature – because He made us in His image for a purpose. We make plans, and create visions of what our life (or our orchard, garden, career, family….) will look like. Piece by piece we toil towards that end goal – and sometimes plans change. Things that worked in one season with great beauty don’t always serve us well down the road and a little “thinning” has to take place. Or maybe the expense and labor of the entire project requires you to abort and regroup with another plan altogether. We cannot fathom the entire plan of our own lives from beginning to end- much less the Big Picture of God’s plan for eternity.
I was reading a study tool that sums up Ecclesiastes about as neatly as it can be done:
- Accept the human state as it is shaped by God’s appointments and enjoy the life you have been given as fully as you can.
- Don’t trouble yourself with unrealistic goals — know the measure of human capabilities.
- Be prudent in all your ways — follow wisdom’s leading.
- Fear God [show absolute reverence and awe for an Almighty God, the Creator of all things] and keep His commandments
Our neighbor, Bill, lived long enough to see some pecans on those trees, but did pass away a few years later. I’m glad he didn’t decide to take a “pass” on growing his trees just because he couldn’t be here to watch their entire life cycle – because none of us have that promise, now do we?
Live life – enjoy the moments – persevere through the rough spots (there will be lots of them) – do what you can with what you have – listen to advice – study and learn all you can – and trust in a higher power who created you with a plan that you cannot fathom, no matter how hard you try – and you will try…