Parable of the Peach

The peach tree stood proudly there behind the garage. Promises had been made and it was dutifully progressing forward along the path to fulfilling its share of the bargain. It had promised that it would - within the boundaries of its best abilities - provide the reward of sweet fruit in the season thereof for the gardener... for that year and all the coming years to follow. And the gardener had in return reciprocated by promising to tenderly nurture and care for the tree throughout its life cycle - to provide water and fertilizer as nourishment - and to offer treatments of protection from the dreaded and destructive peach borer.

The two neighboring peach trees were in swift competition this year to not only produce a better and sweeter crop of fruit - but also a greater quantity. Jealousy among peach trees is not often witnessed - but in this instance one could definitely feel that perhaps the rivalry was pushing each tree to almost beyond their limits.

Frequently over the summer had the gardener gone forth to pluck developing fruit from the branches of the three trees - greatly thinning out the number of peaches. The proud peach tree could not understand why the gardener would discard its carefully growing fruit before it had reached the pinnacle of ripeness. Didn't the gardener know of the battle being waged between the trees? How would it become the champion of the three trees if its fruit was being increasingly winnowed down?

In secret the proud peach tree devised a stratagem whereby it would hide copious amounts of fruit amongst the plentiful leaves along one of its best limbs - thus assuring itself a victory at harvest time. The gardener continued to do that which was deemed necessary for the trees but - being inexperienced with the deviousness of peach trees - the gardener did not anticipate nor prepare to counter the proud peach tree's devices.

Then one day the gardener ventured into the yard behind the garage - all prepared to offer up ministrations of much needed water near the end of yet another hot summer day. To the gardener's horror there lay on the ground a broken branch that had fallen from the proud peach tree. It was one of the best branches this tree offered and had truly enhanced the symmetry of the tree's perfection. Now on one side of the proud peach tree there was but a ragged and ugly break to which the once thriving limb still in part clung desperately to.

With great sadness - and with much self recrimination - the gardener carefully took a saw in hand to remove the last jagged vestiges of the broken branch from the tree. There were no available means whereby the gardener might repair the branch - too much damage had been caused by the break. Upon close examination of the broken branch - much to the gardener's surprise there was a multitude of heretofore unseen fruit. It was readily apparent that the cause of the disaster lay with the excess of growing fruit - which had overly laden the branch to the limits of its strength.

Overcome with feelings of guilt for not fulfilling promises made - the gardener wept silently for the now lopsided peach tree which no longer stood as proudly as it had before. For the remainder of mortal life the gardener would ask the same question... what more could have been done for the proud peach tree?

And the once proud peach tree knew that it would carry the scars of its actions throughout the remainder of its existence. Somehow the competition with the other peach trees did not hold the same significance as it had before. Finally - and at a great cost - the once proud preach tree understood the true motives of the gardener when underdeveloped fruit had been plucked from its branches. It had thought the gardener was trying to sabotage its quest for triumph over the other trees. The actions of the gardener - painful as they had been for the tree - had been in reality for its own good and protection. The once proud peach tree at last came to realize this great lesson - but only after much suffering and agony that were a direct result from its devious stratagems for glory.

How often do we - engrossed in our own pride and striving for that which we deem to be worthy goals - disregard the actions and concerns offered freely to us by the Master Gardener? What stratagems do we devise in our own hearts and lives that will eventually leave us broken and with scars? If we can but learn to trust in Him who knows the beginning from the end - we need not be afraid of the pruning and thinning of our branches. In the end the Master Gardener will make of us a much better and more whole being than we could ever accomplish on our own.
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Postlude --
The "parable of the peach" was written with great remorse resulting from negligence in a stewardship over a peach tree (now lopsided and broken) which stands with two others behind the author's garage.