Be a Peach Tree

Lately I've been puzzled and a bit disturbed by some friends and other folks who are apparently very concerned about "doing enough" to be thought worthy of God, and to be sure of reaching heaven. Sometimes they smile sheepishly and say, "I don't think I've done enough to balance the books for entrance to heaven," or they say , in a semi-serious voice, "I'm not sure the good things I do are enough to get me through the pearly gates."

But these same dear friends will quickly avow, when asked if they are Christians that "Yes, I am. I have trusted Jesus Christ as my personal Savior and I believe that He died on the Cross for my sins so that I may have eternal life."

Well, that pretty much settles things, doesn't it? We can confidently say "I am, You are, He/She is a Christian. But then sometimes we change the verb form and say something like this: I GO to church every Sunday, morning and night," or "I SING in the choir on Sunday morning," or I GAVE my tithe faithfully all last year, or I HELPED a poor street person to find a place to sleep," or I READ the whole Bible last year," or "I GET UP AND PRAY every morning at 6:00 a.m," or "Bless me, I TEACH a Sunday School class of ten year old boys." And doesn't that in a way suggest that we are DOING THINGS so that we might be acceptable to God and attain heaven? Could that be possible?

And before I am completely misunderstood, let me say that these are all good things that we very probably should be doing. But the problem arises when we begin to think that we MUST DO THESE, OR SIMILAR THINGS, if we are Christian; that, in fact, unless we DO GOOD THINGS, we may not make it to heaven! And if we are not careful, we will rachet up our DOING to the point that we are tired, weary, restless, worn out by our efforts, and still worried that we are not DOING ENOUGH. Our religious faith has become a burden.

Okay, so what does all this have to do with the title of this diatribe which is: Be a Peach Tree? I'm using the peach tree as an analogy to try and emphasize its likeness, at least in a few ways, to a Christian.

A peach tree doesn't become a tree until something happens to it; neither do I become a Christian until something happens to me. The peach tree, at first, is simply a lowly seed. And as a seed it will change only if it is planted in the ground. It doesn't turn the soil, prepare a row bed, or pick itself up and plant itself there, a good farmer does that. We do not, by our efforts, become a Christian, all of that work is done by a good and loving God.

Then the peach tree receives rain and sun from outside itself and growth begins. The winds may come and the storms blow, but the rain and sun and the soil have worked their miracle and its roots are strong and the peach tree stands. Finally, after time, that which a peach tree IS shows itself in a bloom and then a beautiful fruit. It has produced a peach because it IS a peach tree! AND IT HAS DONE NOTHING BUT BE A PEACH TREE!

AND SO IT IS WITH BEING A CHRISTIAN. That is what I AM, that is what YOU ARE, that is what SHE IS. And if that is what we ARE, it will not be long until a blossom and then a fruit will be the result of our being a Christian. We will just stand there, wherever we are, whatever is happening, JUST BEING A CHRISTIAN. Jesus tried to explain it by saying that we (Christians) ARE salt, we ARE light. Paul emphasised what we ARE when he said to the Galatian church that, "the fruit of the Spirit is love,joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulnes, gentleness and self-control." The point is I cannot DO love, DO joy, DO peace, DO patience, DO kindness, DO goodness, DO faithfulness, DO gentleness, DO self-control. But I can BE loving, joyful,peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle, self-controlled.

I know what you are saying: The analogy is good as far as it goes, but it doesn't deal with the reality of the human will, choice, etc. etc. etc. and you are right, But an analogy can do only so much. And if it helps me to understand a spiritual reality, that's good enough for me.

And from now on, when I see a peach tree I will remember that what it is doing is just BEING a peach tree. And I will remember that what I am doing, and all I have to do, is just BE a Christian.

And so --- good night!

"It is what it is" "Things Are what they are"

I think these two phrases (see title) will be my mantra for the forseeable future. Like everybody else, I have spent hours worrying and fretting about "Tt is what it is."

Whether it has to do with health, family problems, church worries, the present quagmire that our country is slowly but surely sinking into, spiritual questions, a changing society -- you name it; I've worried about IT, thinking that in some mysterious, out-of-the world way, I might be able to do something to change things.

Well, I've come to realize the valildity of this statement: "it is what it is." Now, that puts me right in the middle of everything, because I live smack dab in the middle of what it is!

No escape from poor health, no escape from church problems, no freedom from responsibilities that I would rather not have, no ability to change (in any significant way) the slippery slope that our country is on, no magic wand to heal broken relationships, no miraculous salve to bind up and cure physical disease.

The unvarnished truth as I see it, is that I am only one of countless millions of human beings who sooner or later have to face up to the fact that "it is what it is." and "things are what they are." And a sober acknowledgment and acceptance of that reality seems to somehow stiffen my spine and enable me to say "Okay, so I will deal with IT!

And I do. I use whatever aids and props and encouragements I can find to help me along this difficult and onerous and sometimes frightening path. I use my Christian faith, I lean on my husband -- when he is not too tired, I use friends who love me, I call on my own children for strength,

I find truth in books, I find beauty in nature, I find love in some very unusual places.

"It is what it is," things are what they are," and this is LIFE.


Now ------- to be really, really honest: Those things are what I do ON GOOD DAYS!!

What I do ON BAD DAYS IS PRETTY UGLY. I don't spend much time in praying or reading my Bible because I don't think God is anywhere nearby and I"m not sure He has any interest in talking to me because I'm not interested in talking to Him.

If I'm with a good friend, I may open up a tiny bit but I usually just stew around and skirt around what's bothering me because I don't want my friend to see what a horrible person I am.

I surely don't share with my own children all of my confusion, my hatreds, my feelings of frustration and belligerence, my desire to get into my car and drive off into the sunset,leaving everybody behind!! Can't do that!! What would they think of their dear old Mom?

As for seeing beauty in nature??? Don't see anything but the blasted cold rain and the dreary day.

Find truth in books? There's no such thing as truth and if there were, on a day like this, I wouldn't know it if it slapped me in my face.


So where am I? What am I saying now?

I'm taking a deep breath and sighing big. I'm saying "it is what it is," "Things are what they are" and THIS IS ALSO LIFE. So ---- go figure!

A Tale of Two Dogs

I promised to write more blogs and I haven't done so. This is my attempt to catch up.

Some time ago we had a Shih Tsu male dog named Barney, and we loved him extravagantly because we had got him as a puppy and he was adorable. We hoped to raise him and keep him forever. But, Alas, Barney fell in love with me, but only tolerated Bill. That was okay up to a point. The time came when Barney did not even like Bill and in fact would attack him without provocation. And the day came when I had to tell my son to find someone to whom we could give Barney; he was too vicious to keep. And again, alas, my son who is very competent and acts decisively, found a place for Barney the next day. I sent Barney to a very lovely young lady who fell in love with him just as I had.

I was heartbroken. It is silly and foolish, I know, to fall in love with an animal but I had loved Barney and I missed him. I wrote a brog about that loss which helped me verbalize how I felt. I said something like, "Is it too much to ask for a dog you can love?" indicating I felt cheated and disappointed at the turn of events.

Then one day, several months later, out of the blue, my daughter said she had found another dog for me. Mary has been "finding" dogs for me since she was ten years old and has never given up the habit. Somewhat reluctantly and anxiously, I agreed to go and see the dog.

It was another Shih Tsu, an adorable blond girl dog with floppy ears and big eyes. I was completely smitten with her and we brought her home that day. We named her Maggie, and she has been the delight of both me and my husband. She chooses to sit in my lap most of the time, but will be equally happy with him while I am gone.

I have never known a more loving, cuddly, obedient, dog than Maggie. And we love her.

And by the way, how and why do you suppose this all happened? Is it sacriligious to suggest that I think God saw my disappointment, my heavy heart, and said to one of his angels, "Let's help out here; get Marie another dog, and be sure it loves both men and women."

I think that the God who knows the number of the hairs on my head, who knows the length of my days on this earth, who knows that I believe and trust in Him, cares for me so much that He chuckled when he gave the order for Maggie.