Lessons from an apple tree

Why on earth did I post these photos of apples? 

I have an apple tree in my backyard and for the 5 years we have lived here it has been a pain in the..... never productive, tiny sour apples fall in the summer and rot in the sun. Our yard smells like a distillery and the bugs...uhhggg. So my Father in law comes over one day picks one up off the ground and bites it, "this is good he says". WHAT??? 

 So yesterday I am outside and pick one off the tree to taste. WOW, it was the perfect apple, just the right combination of sweet and tart, warmed by the sun and crisp and fresh. Look at them they are beautiful and they came off the tree in my backyard.  Well, the real beauty of it was the lesson I learned from it. My life right now seems like that nearly dead apple tree and all around me I've been stepping on rotting apples. I haven't seen much good this past year and it's hard to get past some of the stuff that's been going on. When I tasted that apple it was like God was giving me a proof that not everything is what it SEEMS. That He WILL grow some good Apples in the future. Transformation is His thing and someday we will harvest something sweet and delicious.  

So of course last night we enjoyed a beautiful homemade apple pie. It was the best one I've ever had - no joke.