My mother in law gave us two persimmon trees. We planted them both in the front yard at the exact same time. We watered them and waited for them to grow.
As you can see from these pictures, one tree grew beautifully. It had its first, beautiful fruit last year. The other tree, well, it never did much at all. It looks now, as it has always looked, pretty terrible.
Where We Are Planted Matters
Have you ever heard this advice? It matters “where we are planted.” I’ve heard it, sure, but I’ve never seen it illustrated right in my front yard. For whatever reason, the conditions were more favorable on one side of the yard than the other. It mattered where we planted those trees. Maybe it was the more direct sun on the left. Maybe it was the more fertile dirt on the right. I’m not sure. After all, I did the exact same things for each of the trees and the result was drastically different.
What I do know with certainty is that sometimes we don’t even realize we are planted in the wrong place. With the wrong people. At the wrong time. Looking like a dried up tree that desperately needs an intervention. Sometimes we can’t see it! The Bible tells us that where we are planted matters!
“The righteous will flourish like a palm tree, they will grow like a cedar of Lebanon; planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God.”
Psalm 92:12-13 (ESV)
Persimmons and Palms
My persimmons aren’t palms, of course, but I still think we can learn a lot from the biblical lessons of planting and surrounding ourselves with people who encourage our growth. Standing in my front yard looking at these two trees, one that grew beautifully and one that looks like it never had a chance, really makes you stop and think.
I love that the simile in Psalm 92 uses palm trees. Palms are beautiful and tough. They can resist pests, diseases, and the cold. They can withstand winds up to 145 miles per hour. A hurricane might uproot other trees and destroy buildings, while palm trees stay standing as if nothing ever happened. Palms can “bend and not break” because they do not have secondary xylem tissues as most trees do. One type of palm, the Sabal Palmetto, can even bend 50 degrees without breaking!
Roots That Grow Out
The absolute coolest thing of all to me about palm trees is their roots. Palms have fibrous root systems. If one or two roots become damaged or pulled, it’s no problem for the tree. There are plenty of roots to keep the tree firmly planted. Palm roots don’t grow down like most trees; instead they grow out. Sure, I want roots that go deep and keep me grounded. But a life that’s only lived for me? Not a chance. I want roots that grow out.
“Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.”
1 Corinthians 15:33 (ESV)
