Inspiration From a Tree
A while back on my Facebook page I shared a quote from my new book on a picture of a scrawny little excuse of a tree. In preparing to celebrate the release of The Ultimate Prince Charming I'd like to tell you the story of that tiny little tree.
Every year our family decides on an "experiment" in our garden. We pick a plant that isn't necessarily known to thrive in our area and we say, "What the heck? We'll give it a go!" Now I love cherries. And by love, I mean that my sweet husband has learned that giving me a bag of cherries is the ultimate form of bribery. And it works! My mood instantly improves and life just seems to be so much better. But when you live in southwestern Kansas, cherries are hard to come by and they are always expensive. So when I saw a dwarf cherry tree on a gardening website that claimed to be hardy and semi-drought resistant, I jumped on it. "Think of it sweetie," I told my husband. "If we can make this work out, that's only $12 spent for a lifetime of fresh picked, free cherries!" My husband is less keen on cherries than I am, but did see the advantages this provided. And so the little $12 dwarf cherry tree became our 2014 garden experiment.
It was tiny when it arrived, easily dwarfed by the apricot bush we'd also purchased. We planted it and I began taking care of it. It was given water and plant food, but never really seemed to grow much. But I didn't let that discourage me. I kept caring for it and making sure that I did my part.
In June while my mother was visiting, we had a tremendous wind storm. As she was on the phone with my dad, we heard a sudden crunch and thump. Looking out the dining room window, we saw that a very large limb had fallen from the old tree in our backyard. Right on top of my poor cherry tree.
The next day when Dad came to pick Mom up, he helped Jonathan and I lift the tree limb off the fence and get it moved out of the way. Amazingly, my cherry tree had only lost a couple of leaves, but otherwise seemed fine. But the damage to the older tree was such that my husband and I knew the tree would have to be cut down. Another lost limb would mean damage to either our house or the neighbor's house. So we did some research and looked around before settling on a professional tree remover.
By the time he came our garden was becoming rather wild looking. Pumpkin vines were taking over my flower garden (note to self: never plant vining things by flowers again!). The apricot tree was thriving with tons of little leaves. And our tomato bushes looked more like wild trees! He told us he'd do his best to prevent the tree limbs falling on the garden, but couldn't make any guarantees. And he did a great job. But as he was cutting large sections of branch and trunk, a huge chunk fell right on top of my cherry tree. As he was moving the fallen pieces of tree, he dragged that chunk over it.
The tiny branches were broken. Not a single leaf remained. I just knew that my "experiment" was about to die. I was heartbroken. It may seem silly to get so attached to a tree, but it had already survived a dry and hot summer and one branch falling on it. We continued to water the spot, just in case, and I'll be honest: I prayed for a miracle.
In fall, the tree seemed to show some improvement. A few leaves sprouted from scraggly little branches. At about the same time we brought home a very energetic and sometimes naughty six month old puppy. I don't suppose I have to recount what happened, but I'll tell you. My baby trees, both the apricot and the cherry, suddenly provided her with chew toys. I had never been so angry at the dog. We put a garden fence around the trees and forbade her from jumping it. And I continued to pray that somehow that poor tree would survive.
Winter came and you couldn't even see where the cherry tree had been. I figured it was probably hopeless. Our apricot tree looked like a branch that had been stuck in the dirt. I started expecting the reality of needing to buy new trees. But would it be worth it?
Then spring came around again. I was busily working on The Ultimate Prince Charming. Our yard started to green up and an amazing thing happened. Where the teeny stump that was left of my cherry tree was, leaves suddenly sprouted. Could it be possible? Over the next few days, I watched as those first few leaves were blown away in a windstorm only to be replaced by more leaves and thin branches. Our apricot tree also began leafing out. I could hardly dare to believe it! That resilient little cherry tree had survived, against all odds!
One Sunday at church we were talking about the parable of the sower. As we discussed the different types of ground described, I couldn't stop thinking of my cherry tree. It was planted in good ground. The soil here is very fertile. Despite the hardships it had faced, it had been able to develop strong roots.
Around the same time, I was writing a scene with George's princess. She was complaining about her hardships and these lines came from the character she was speaking to:
Inspiration can come from anywhere you look. Even from a tiny, yet mighty, cherry tree.
P.S. Don't forget to make time tomorrow (Monday June 15th) for The Ultimate Prince Charming's release party!
https://www.facebook.com/events/14205...
Every year our family decides on an "experiment" in our garden. We pick a plant that isn't necessarily known to thrive in our area and we say, "What the heck? We'll give it a go!" Now I love cherries. And by love, I mean that my sweet husband has learned that giving me a bag of cherries is the ultimate form of bribery. And it works! My mood instantly improves and life just seems to be so much better. But when you live in southwestern Kansas, cherries are hard to come by and they are always expensive. So when I saw a dwarf cherry tree on a gardening website that claimed to be hardy and semi-drought resistant, I jumped on it. "Think of it sweetie," I told my husband. "If we can make this work out, that's only $12 spent for a lifetime of fresh picked, free cherries!" My husband is less keen on cherries than I am, but did see the advantages this provided. And so the little $12 dwarf cherry tree became our 2014 garden experiment.
It was tiny when it arrived, easily dwarfed by the apricot bush we'd also purchased. We planted it and I began taking care of it. It was given water and plant food, but never really seemed to grow much. But I didn't let that discourage me. I kept caring for it and making sure that I did my part.
In June while my mother was visiting, we had a tremendous wind storm. As she was on the phone with my dad, we heard a sudden crunch and thump. Looking out the dining room window, we saw that a very large limb had fallen from the old tree in our backyard. Right on top of my poor cherry tree.
The next day when Dad came to pick Mom up, he helped Jonathan and I lift the tree limb off the fence and get it moved out of the way. Amazingly, my cherry tree had only lost a couple of leaves, but otherwise seemed fine. But the damage to the older tree was such that my husband and I knew the tree would have to be cut down. Another lost limb would mean damage to either our house or the neighbor's house. So we did some research and looked around before settling on a professional tree remover.
By the time he came our garden was becoming rather wild looking. Pumpkin vines were taking over my flower garden (note to self: never plant vining things by flowers again!). The apricot tree was thriving with tons of little leaves. And our tomato bushes looked more like wild trees! He told us he'd do his best to prevent the tree limbs falling on the garden, but couldn't make any guarantees. And he did a great job. But as he was cutting large sections of branch and trunk, a huge chunk fell right on top of my cherry tree. As he was moving the fallen pieces of tree, he dragged that chunk over it.
The tiny branches were broken. Not a single leaf remained. I just knew that my "experiment" was about to die. I was heartbroken. It may seem silly to get so attached to a tree, but it had already survived a dry and hot summer and one branch falling on it. We continued to water the spot, just in case, and I'll be honest: I prayed for a miracle.
In fall, the tree seemed to show some improvement. A few leaves sprouted from scraggly little branches. At about the same time we brought home a very energetic and sometimes naughty six month old puppy. I don't suppose I have to recount what happened, but I'll tell you. My baby trees, both the apricot and the cherry, suddenly provided her with chew toys. I had never been so angry at the dog. We put a garden fence around the trees and forbade her from jumping it. And I continued to pray that somehow that poor tree would survive.
Winter came and you couldn't even see where the cherry tree had been. I figured it was probably hopeless. Our apricot tree looked like a branch that had been stuck in the dirt. I started expecting the reality of needing to buy new trees. But would it be worth it?
Then spring came around again. I was busily working on The Ultimate Prince Charming. Our yard started to green up and an amazing thing happened. Where the teeny stump that was left of my cherry tree was, leaves suddenly sprouted. Could it be possible? Over the next few days, I watched as those first few leaves were blown away in a windstorm only to be replaced by more leaves and thin branches. Our apricot tree also began leafing out. I could hardly dare to believe it! That resilient little cherry tree had survived, against all odds!
One Sunday at church we were talking about the parable of the sower. As we discussed the different types of ground described, I couldn't stop thinking of my cherry tree. It was planted in good ground. The soil here is very fertile. Despite the hardships it had faced, it had been able to develop strong roots.
Around the same time, I was writing a scene with George's princess. She was complaining about her hardships and these lines came from the character she was speaking to:
“How you view your challenges will either help you become successful or shatter you. It’s like I was saying about the garden. The strongest plants are not the ones that never faced hardships. They’re the ones that survived droughts, wind storms, lightning and other obstacles. That’s rather like a quest. You are being given figurative droughts, wind storms and lightning to test your strength. Each time you successfully complete a task, no matter how challenging, you grow stronger.”
Inspiration can come from anywhere you look. Even from a tiny, yet mighty, cherry tree.
P.S. Don't forget to make time tomorrow (Monday June 15th) for The Ultimate Prince Charming's release party!
https://www.facebook.com/events/14205...
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