An Orchard in the Sand: A Vision of What’s Possible

One of our Workplace Prayer clients lives on the shore of a small island off the coast of Belize.

She has an interest in gardening that extends back for decades, and when she first moved to her property, it was covered with some nondescript, unproductive trees, and a lot of spiky little plants.

She thought, “I want to create a nursery with productive trees, because I want people to see what’s possible here on this island.”

She had moved from a very different climate zone with a very different terrain, and now faced the challenges of sand, salt, and wind instead of soil.

Before she had to fend off bunnies from girdling her fruit trees. Now she had to contend with iguanas.

One by one, she figured out the challenges.

For example, trees can’t grow in 100% sand, so she brought soil over from the mainland on a barge. But when it arrived, she found that it wasn’t nice soil, but rather dry and hard. It seemed completely dead.

Recently, though, she was digging in her garden and found an earthworm!

Where did this earthworm come from? It certainly wasn’t in the sand. (You don’t expect to find earthworms when building sandcastles at the beach.) And yet here was a sign of new life, a sign of healthy soil.

And the soil apparently had viable grass seed, too, because now her property is covered in grass, a vibrant jewel.

When people come to visit, they say, “Oh, this is so beautiful.”

But she said, “It’s not actually that impressive. It’s a row of trees.”

And yet: it’s also a fledgling orchard, with fruit-bearing trees.

From one banana tree, she now has twenty baby banana trees growing.

Of the different varieties of mango trees she planted, one is four times the size of the others. So now she knows which variety works best for her specific location.

She is giving a vision of what’s possible, and all of the people who come say, when they leave, “I want to do that, too.”

Thus far, none of the peach trees she’s planted have survived. And the people on the island say, “Yeah, I’ve never seen peaches grow on the island.”

But when she contacted the nursery on the mainland that grows peaches, the nursery owner asked, “What does it hurt to plant some more? Might as well try again.”

For the few dollars per tree, it’s not a huge investment. An experiment in what is possible.

At one point, perhaps she will find the one or two that are perfectly suitable for her microclimate, and then she’ll be able to graft those, the productive ones, for that specific growing site.

Thank you, Jesus, for the vision casters! Thank you for those who are willing to envision something that has never been done before, and willing to put in the work to make it happen!

May we steward what you’ve put in our hands. You invite us to create beauty and order out of the things that are chaotic.

May we see what you’re doing and be in sync with you.

Thank you, Jesus. Amen.

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May we live for the praise of his glory,

Amy Joy

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