Let Go of Your Tree

     The gospel reading from yesterday (3rd Sunday of Lent) really struck me. This particular reading shares with us one of Jesus' parables. Oh parables... You know when one of those gets introduced, things are going to get complicated. 
     This parable tells the story of a orchard owner who has a fig tree. It has been three years and the fig tree still has not produced fruit. Frustrated, the orchard owner tells the gardner that he plans on cutting down the tree. The gardner then promises to cultivate the ground and fertilize the soil in hopes of it bearing fruit. If after a year it still does not bear fruit, the orchard owner can cut it down. 
   I guess, cool story bro. I had the hardest time trying to relate to this parable. I spent a while trying to manipulate the circumstances of my life to find a way to convince myself that I was the tree in some sense (a work in progress), or even the gardner (the one who helps things grow to their potential). Imagine my disappointment when I realized I was the lame orchard owner. I wasn't the beautiful tree with immense potential. I wasn't the selfless and dedicated gardner. I was the whiny complaining orchard owner. Great.
     I've spent the past few months really trying my hardest to grow in my relationship with God, to become a living, breathing representation of the Holy Spirit. I desperately wanted to be the gardner. Hey, I was even fine with being the tree. But I felt like being seen as the orchard owner meant that I had made no progress throughout these past few months. I was still hung up on what had failed in my life. My three year old fruitless tree. My friend Claire noticed my disappointment and kindly reminded me not to judge my feelings. "Recognize how you feel and see that as something to work on, with God." I couldn't have said it better myself.
     I believe that at some point, we are all the orchard owner. We all have something in our lives that isn't working out and we feel tempted to just "cut it down", give up. Or, sometimes it's taken away from us. Regardless, we need to recognize that it doesn't end there. All of the failed parts of our lives (academics, jobs, relationships) do not disappear when we decide that they do not bring about the fruit that we desire. We've been challenged to hand what we perceive as failures to the "gardner", to God. I'm going to ask you all to join me in this task. Instead of just giving up and throwing it away, hand it over to God, ask him to fix it. If for some reason we believe it has already been taken away, realize that maybe God is using this as an opportunity to fix it Himself, to cultivate the ground and fertilize the soil. 
     Don't cut down your tree. Rather, give it to the gardner and allow Him to do with it what He deems most beneficial.