I have two crepe myrtles in my front yard growing at different rates. One is growing bright, beautiful green leaves and dainty white flowers. The other isn’t growing anything. I went over to the one struggling to check on it a few days ago and under the bark there is still green. I know it is still alive, it is just taking time and needs a little more care and patience.
I have a fig tree growing in my yard as well. It started as a very small plant and three years after planting it, the tree still was not producing fruit. I was visiting with a mission partner in Serbia with a yard full of gorgeous fig trees and I asked him what to do. He said to fertilize it really well in the fall and wait until the following spring. I did what he said, and that spring my fig tree produced figs for the first time.
I also have a magnolia tree in my yard. It started off very small, and now it is still very small. It might have grown 2 inches since we planted it almost 4 years ago. Turns out, magnolia trees are slow-growing trees. It is currently the smallest out of all the plants in the yard. But in time, the magnolia will be the largest and will produce beautiful white flowers the size of my palm.
All of these trees grow at different rates, have different needs, and produce different things. But one thing remains, the trees need time and nutrients.
What kind of nutrients do you need to grow this season? May we be like the palm tree, like the cedar tree, like the tree that bears fruit and stays fresh and green as we learn to truly rest in the Lord our Rock.