THE MONEYMAKER PECAN TREE
Isaiah 11.1 "And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots:"
I live in a pecan orchard where most of the trees are at least 80 years old. One of the varieties the original owners of the land planted was called a "moneymaker". This pecan is round, has a good flavor and a hard shell..It is a tough nut to crack by hand. Since 1962, when we moved on this place, we have gathered hundreds of pounds of these delicious nuts, and the trees have given up some to the squirrels and birds.
One of my moneymaker trees was huge...about four feet in diameter, and usually produced over 200 pounds of pecans. Then, one year, it was struck by lightning, and one side of it begin to die. It took a few years for the top to fall out and the limbs to fall from the damaged side. Finally, there was one huge limb left, yet it still continued to produce pecans. I carefully watched that limb as it slowly separated from what was left of the trunk of the tree. One day, I was outside, and heard a loud noise...It was the one remaining limb falling from the trunk of the tree.
Sadly, I watched as the old tree gave a quiver, and shuddered as it gave up the ghost. After a few weeks, I got my chainsaw and begin to clean up the fallen tree. I burned all the debris, and thought of all the pecans that had fallen from that good old tree. My thoughts went back to the day it was planted in hope by someone else, it was carefully nutured, and then I imagined the joy of the previous owner when it produced it's first pecans. It was over now, the life of the tree, or so it seemed.
About three years ago, after Mama died, I noticed some green shoots coming up in the vicinity of where the moneymaker tree had been. I looked closely, and could see that it was a tiny pecan tree...springing forth from the roots of that big ole tree that had fallen..New life!! I let it grow, and then there were two...side by side. I let them grow in memory of my Mama, and her twin sister. Those two trees, springing forth from the root of the old tree, are flourishing and are now 12 feet tall. The root system was already established, so the trees could grow rapidly.
This experience has reminded me of a spiritual truth. Seeds planted long ago will continue to produce fruit. People are born, they die, yet there heritage lives on. A strong root system produces a healthy tree and shows me that we must be firmly rooted in the Word of God.
That original moneymaker tree was planted, grew and became old..like us...yet its memory still lives on.
Psalm 92.14 "They shall still bring forth fruit in old age; they shall be fat and flourishing."
Irvin L. Rozier, author of My Walk with the Lord, www.selahbooks.com
About the Author
author, preacher, retired US Army