“Every man under his vine and under his fig tree.” - Micah 4:4
Last week I told you about loading my Jeep in the sideways Seattle rain in December 1995. What I didn’t tell you is what rode shotgun with me: A fig tree. About 18 inches tall, in a plastic pot, wedged between boxes, coffee maker, books and who knows what else.
I’m not sure why I brought it.I didn’t have much, and it certainly wasn’t worth much. But it was alive, and it was mine, and I guess some part of me figured if I could keep that little tree going, maybe I could keep myself going too.
In Seattle, that fig tree just (barely) survived. Not enough sun; I probably watered it too much after staring at the rain outside all day. It never really grew. A lot like me back then.
Then we both got replanted.
Today that same tree stands about 5' tall, in our backyard. It is still in a pot, albeit, a bigger pot. It is a “weeping fig,” does not produce figs, but it produces proof of survival to me, through all the elements and seasons of “life.”
Tess threatens to get rid of it; but I’ll fight tooth and nail for this little tree. I’m confident that it will survive well past me as I know my kids and Tess (God Willing) will carry it forward.
Here’s what that tree taught me: sometimes nothing is wrong with you. You’re just planted in the wrong soil. You can water and wait and hope, but some things only grow when you move them somewhere they can get the light.
If you’re in a season where you feel stuck, where you’re surviving but not growing, it might be time to ask whether you need to try harder, or whether you need different soil. Different people, a different place, a different habit, a different direction.
Roots can be moved. I’m living proof.
What’s one thing in your life that grew once you gave it the right soil? Hit reply, I read every one.
God Bless.
