Bearing Fruit in Every Season

Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers. But they delight in the law of the Lord , meditating on it day and night. They are like trees planted along the riverbank, bearing fruit each season. Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do.

Psalms 1:1‭-‬3 NLT

For some time, I've been hung up on this idea of being a tree that bears fruit in EVERY season. I've asked myself what that looks like in my life and I have just felt so challenged to work toward this. As I spent some time evaluating this recently, a certain fruit tree has come to mind: The mangosteen tree.

Mangosteen trees are notoriously picky about where they will grow. They have to have frequent rain, but not too much rain, sun, but not too much sun, and have to stay between 40°F and 100°F. They do well in humid climates, but not swamps. They also have a very slow growing root system, which means that it takes up to 10 years for these trees to even bear their first fruit. Due to these precise conditions, mangosteen is one of the hardest fruits in the world to grow. But as someone who has enjoyed dozens of the fruits, I can say it is worth it. Mangosteen is by far the greatest fruit I have ever tasted and it is nearly incomparable to any other flavor.

Why am I telling you all this? Because in my mind, mangosteen trees are models for us as believers. We have to be picky about what kind of nutrition we receive, where we are placed, and the climate around us. We need daily light and water (prayer and Bible reading). What is the result of all this work? Every time I come to Hawaii, I get to enjoy at least one ripe mangosteen from the orchard. While they do have a specific season in which they fruit, yielding about 500 fruits once they mature, at peak maturity between 30-45 years old, each tree may yield as many as 3,000 fruits in season. Not only do the trees bear fruit in every season, but in their due season, they bear hundreds or thousands of fruits! It's only because of the years of slow growth under the surface and the daily food that these trees can be so magnificent. Some mangosteen trees still produce fruit at 100 years old. Weeds can grow and flower within a season, but trees planted by rivers of water will not only fruit in every season, they will yield copious fruit in their season.

So when we go through seasons that feel unending, uneventful, or tiresome, we have to remember that the trees that produce the sweetest fruit take the longest time to spread roots. These trees don’t spring up in one season and fade in the next. They live for many years and if given time to mature, produce unprecedented amounts of the sweetest fruits life can offer. Don’t look for shortcuts, let God take His time in growing you.