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Jawbreakers, Bubble Gum and Stick Candy
The Parable of the Plum and Pear Trees
(Based on a True Story)
Winter had come to the little community of Coatstown. The first snow of the season had already fallen. Everyone was ready for winter. But, they were already looking forward to spring, especially little Willie. He loved the outdoors. He loved to run and play. Willie liked winter but not as much as spring, summer and fall.
Willie sat around one day and tried to think of things to do. He wished that he had a new hobby. He wanted something he could do all by himself. Something he had never done before, a pet project. He thought and thought. What can I possibly do?” he asked himself. I have played ball, collected cards and I have all kinds of model cars, he thought. I wonder what else I can do. Little Willie had no idea what he could do until he was thumbing through some old magazines. Suddenly, a certain page caught his eye.
“That’s it!” he shouted as his little heart filled with joy. “I’m going to plant me some fruit trees,” cried little Willie. “I’ll have apples, peaches, plums, pears and cherries to eat this spring,” he proclaimed. “I’ll get me some trees and plant them. They will get big and I’ll have plenty of fruit to eat and share with my friends.”
Little Willie’s joy was suddenly cut short. A sad frown came across his face. I don’t have enough money to buy any trees, he thought. What am I going to do? Little Willie thought for a minute before he raised his head and smiled. I know what I’ll do, he said to himself. I’ll work some odd jobs to get enough money to buy some trees. When spring comes, I’ll be ready to plant them.
That winter, little Willie worked odd jobs. He shoveled snow, packed in firewood and worked part-time in the local grocery store as a sack boy.
Time passed and the winter snows had all but melted away. The crisp air of spring had come again to Coatstown with the chirping of the birds and blooming flowers everywhere. All during the winter, little Willie had worked hard to earn enough money to buy his fruit trees. He read many books on how to take care of fruit trees. He wanted to know everything he could so his trees would produce abundantly. He wanted to raise the best fruit trees and have the finest orchard around.
Finally, the big day came. Little Willie’s hard work had finally paid off. Early one morning, Willie’s dad drove him to the nursery so he could by his trees. At the nursery, little Willie carefully examined each young (whip) tree. He wanted to choose the very best trees for his orchard. After carefully looking at all the trees, little Willie chose five. He chose an apple, peach, plum, pear and cherry tree.
“Dad!” he exclaimed. “These are the ones for me.”
“Okay, Willie,” replied his dad. “You know what you want.”
Willie reached into his pocket, pulled out his money and paid for his trees. Little Willie couldn’t wait to get home to dig his first hole and plant his first tree. He was so excited; he couldn’t talk about anything else. When they arrived home, Willie took the young whips down to the edge of the yard and laid them down.
“Do you need any help, Willie?” yelled his dad.
“No thanks, Dad. I think I can do it,” he replied. “Thanks anyway.”
As his dad went inside the house, the tip of Willie’s shovel went into the ground. Deeper and deeper little Willie dug the holes. He wanted them to be the perfect size for his trees. Hole after hole, five in all, he dug and tree after tree he planted. Finally, little Willie had finished planting all of his trees. As he watered each of them, he pictured in his mind a beautiful orchard with beautiful fruit. I can almost taste the delicious fruit, he drooled. It will take three years for the first fruits to bear, he thought to himself. But, it will be worth the wait.
The years soon slipped away. The first year flew by. Little Willie had taken good care of the trees; he kept them sprayed and pruned. The second year rolled by and the trees continued to grow. Little Willie worked diligently on his pet project. In one more year, little Willie’s handiwork would pay off.
Everything was good until the end of the second year. He noticed one of the trees looked sick. Willie became worried. He tried everything he could to help the tree but nothing seemed to work. Oh, no, he cried to himself. I hope I don’t lose my plum tree. The more he tried to help the tree, the worse it became. Willie tried everything. He didn’t know what else he could do. One night as he lay in his bed worrying about the plum tree, he prayed. God, he prayed, please don’t let my plum tree die. I have worked so hard to get my trees. Please help me, he said to himself as he closed his eyes and went to sleep.
Weeks later, the plum tree was about the same. Day after day, little Willie prayed unto the Lord that He would not let his plum tree die. Each day, he checked on the plum tree; there was no change. Winter had set in and little Willie had done all that he could for his plum tree. However, he kept on praying. It was a hard winter that year. But, spring finally came. The young fruit trees had begun to bud. Little Willie ran out to his orchard to check on his trees. The plum tree still looked bad. Little Willie had no other choice but to ask his dad to take a look at his plum tree.
“Dad,” he asked, “will you come and take a look at my plum tree and tell me what’s wrong with it?”
His Dad looked at the young whip and thought a minute.
“Willie,” he replied, “this is not a plum tree; it’s a pear tree.”
“Oh no, Dad,” he said as he pointed to another tree. “That’s my pear tree over there.”
“I’m sorry, Willie, to be the one to tell you. This is definitely a pear tree you asked me to look at and that is a plum tree you are pointing to,” his dad stated.
Little Willie had been so worried that he got his trees mixed up. The plum tree he had prayed for had outgrown all the other trees. So, God had answered his prayers. That night, little Willie prayed and thanked the Lord for answering his prayers. He told the Lord he was sorry for getting the trees mixed up. Lord, prayed little Willie, will you please help my pear tree grow as well as my plum tree?
Matthew 7:7-9
Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asked receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
Days later, little Willie went out to his orchard to check on his trees. He was amazed at what he saw. Quickly, he took off running toward the house as fast as he could go.
“Mom, Dad!” he yelled.
His parents ran outside to see what was wrong.
“Mom, Dad, you have to come and see. You’re not going to believe it!” he yelled as they all rushed to the orchard.
“Look!” he yelled. “The pear tree has perked up and is looking better. Thank-you, Lord, thank you,” he cried, “for answering my prayers.”
Ecclesiastes 3:1
To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
Time has passed since the days of little Willie and his plum and pear trees. The family eventually sold the place, moved on and left the orchard behind. Little Willie grew up to be a fine young man. One day he came back to Coatstown and decided to drive by his old home. It was still pretty much the same except for the orchard. The new owner had cut down all the fruit trees except for two. Guess which two still stood? That’s right, the plum and the pear tree. You won’t believe it but the he plum tree is still the taller of the two.
Matthew 17:20-21
And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting.