When I was younger, I remember eating apples and then scattering the seeds in the front yard and seeing if I could get them to grow. Of course I didn’t fully understand all that it took for a little seed to really grow into an apple tree. Like in life, you have to nurture everything from the start to give it the best chance possible.
My kids for example are given lots of love, they are well fed, hugged and kissed lots, and are being well taken care of. Seeds are really no different. They need much of the same but those things come in the form of water, nutrients, and sunlight.
Growing an Apple Tree
When I was younger I tried to grow my own apple trees. Not trying too hard, I would put the seeds around the front lawn. Much to my surprise, an apple tree sprouted. I must have been six or seven years old at the time when I planted that little apple seed, without knowing what would happen to it. I just had hope in my young mind that something would flourish.
As an adult having a garden of my own, I know that it takes practice to keep your plants thriving. Through my years of gardening, I’ve had many flourish, a few not make it, and plenty of help—mostly from my mom who seems to have the most knowledge.
This may seem like something so simple, something so easy. To some it may be much harder. What I’ve learned is that growing a tree can be related to all things in life, and each walk of life is a bit different. I believe if we look at it, have faith and give things time to grow, they will do just that.
A New Tree
My own story of apple trees was a memory when about 15 years later my family noticed that one of our trees had different blossoms—an apple tree had sprouted within another tree that was planted. It had leaned on that tree for support and blossomed and has now turned into a big, beautiful apple tree.
My two boys love that my parents have this big apple tree right in their front yard, a place where we have family photos taken each year. My husband and I get to see the growth of our babies under that tree each year, along with the growth of our marriage and family—it helps me recognize that we are doing alright.
The Moral of the Apple Tree
My boys have now planted their own seeds (from that same tree) in our front yard and are very patiently waiting for it to grow, watching it, checking on it, watering it, saying kind words, and even praying for it to grow. What’s amazing to me is that they’ve taken it upon themselves to want this. My heart has opened and blossomed, just like that tree, and has now passed that love on to them at their young ages. It gives me hope.
The apple tree has taught me, and my children, quite a bit about patience and nurturing even if we didn’t realize it. We’ve learned that in order for something to grow, you need to nurture it. We’ve also learned that good things take time and we have learned to be patient. We need patience for beauty, patience for growth, patience for understanding, and most of all patience for seeing your path.
