He Cares About Your Apple Tree
I take care of a gentleman named Frank that has dementia. Along with his personal care, I also manage his care through coordinating with other agencies, so I get to talk to all sorts of people. David, one of the drivers we use to transport Frank to his day program, was telling me in passing about the concern of his apple tree due to the bipolar weather in Colorado. Because of the crazy Colorado weather, his apple tree has not produced any apples the last few years. We sometimes get snow late in the season which can bring frost when things are starting to bloom. Well, his concern has become my concern which really means it is God’s concern. I have been praying for this apple tree. When I told David that I was praying for his apple tree, his face lit up with surprise. His countenance and demeanor changed. He got extremely excited. He started telling me about this jam he likes to make. He and his neighbor exchange fruit to make different things. It was very important to him.
Why is this important to us? It is just an apple tree and a guy named David.
As I contemplated why this apple tree has become such a concern for me, God used it to show me somethings about Him. For example, the bible says in Luke 12:7 "Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered." (NIV) You could argue that God is showing off. He can count all the hairs on our head. For some that doesn’t take much effort, but for my head of hair, it takes some serious effort. I have a lot of hair! I don’t even know how many little hairs I have, and the amount changes probably on an hourly basis. I think He is showing off but for a different reason than proving He is the Almighty God. Yes, He is almighty, and He is also able to handle all our requests. Actually, He wants to handle all our requests. It doesn’t burden God to ask Him about your “apple tree”. He is big enough to handle all the requests, concerns, celebrations etc.
We can personify God to the point of misperception. We put our own limitations on God. I have been guilty of limiting God myself. I don’t want to burden God. I don’t want to ask for too much. God has so much to worry about. My problems aren’t important. Does that sound familiar? We have all sorts of reasons why we don’t ask or talk to God about it. However, God so badly desires for relationship with you and me. He wants all of it. ALL OF IT! He wants to know about all our apple tree concerns.
As God encourages me, I would encourage you to take a moment with Him to talk. He loves you and wants to hear from your heart. Yes, he already knows, but he wants to hear it from you.
