The land of fruits and nuts

"And God saw that it was good"

Genesis 1:12

My family went camping recently, in a National Park in the mountains of central California.  It's a several hour drive to get there, but it's a pretty drive.  I grew up on the East Coast of the US, and when we drove several hours to get someplace, we drove through several states.  It was so weird, when I moved to California as a teenager, to find that you could drive all day and still be in the same state.

I love road trips, though.  The only ones I don't like as much are when I'm on a route I've been on hundreds of times.  When I feel like I've seen the same exact scenery over and over, it's not as much fun.  Mostly, though, I love looking out the window and seeing how the topography, the trees and plant life, the architecture, and even the people, change from place to place. 

A drive through central California is unusual, though.  Specifically, the plants and trees.  Although it's interesting to see, in any state or country, what kind of plants grow there, seeing what's growing in Central California feels personal.  Because a lot of what grows there, is what you and I eat.  California is the single biggest producer of agricultural products in the U.S.  And most of that comes from Central California.  Without ever leaving the freeway, we saw stalks of corn; miles of vineyards; acres of almond, walnut and pistachio trees; orchards of orange, peach and avocado trees; and those beautiful, distinctive strawberry plants. 

I was just in awe.  I knew that my family and I were the recipients of that growth.  As a matter of fact, when we arrived at our destination, I got out the bag of almonds we had brought along to snack on, and checked the label.  Sure enough, they'd come from that very county we had just driven through.

But there was something else.  Plants and trees are always beautiful ~ lush and green (usually) and each species unique.  But there's just something about plants that are growing food for us.  They were just so.... productive.   The leaves on an orange tree are such a dark, rich green.  And when the oranges are growing, they are these beautiful polka dots of color all over it.  Almond trees have an almost lacy look to them; a delicate quality.  Corn ~ well, corn is like nothing else.  We even saw corn growing in the median of the freeway!  Though I'm not sure anyone is actually gonna harvest those stragglers...

Fruitfulness is so beautiful.  And I think that's true of people, too.  I think of people I know who are accomplishing things for God, and invariably, I find them beautiful.  Not necessarily in the way the world thinks ~ everybody's opinion differs on that kind of stuff.  But they are dynamic, joyful, and magnetic.  They are a pleasure to be around.   They manifest the fruits of the Spirit ~ love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.

This is a good goal for us to have.  And it's the natural response of our obedience; of our being in His will.  He will make us fruitful, and we will be beautiful and useful to Him in this world.

~ "Then the trees of the field shall yield their fruit,

and the earth shall yield her increase... 

and they shall know that I am the Lord" ~

Ezekiel 34:27