The pear tree was full of blooms this year and I’ve noticed the small pears on the limbs.
There are a lot of them; it will be a banner year for my pears.
That also means I’ll have to do like last year.
I noticed last spring that the pear population was greater than the limb population meaning more pears than room to hold them.
Once the fruit got to a certain size the limbs began to sag and were in danger of breaking.
I had to find something to help keep them from snapping off.
I searched the barn and found some 1-inch by 2-inch, 8-foot long fir strips that I use for building bird houses; they’re handy but not of much use for much else.
So I cut a V-notch in one end and sharpened the other.
I put the limb in the V-notch, raised the limb, and jabbed the sharpened end into the ground.
As the growing season continued, the pears became larger and larger but the limb no longer sagged; the fir strip helped hold it up!
I thought it kind of interesting that something small, thin, and no longer living (the fir strips) became the instrument to help what was living and growing.
You, too, could be an unusual source of help for someone else.
You may not even realize what you are able to do!
In fact, helping others is a spiritual gift from God.
1 Cor 12:28 in the NLT says, Here is a list of some of the members that God has placed in the body of Christ: first are apostles, second are prophets, third are teachers, then those who do miracles, those who have the gift of healing, those who can help others, those who can get others to work together, those who speak in unknown languages.
The help you give could be financial, advice, friendship, encouragement, or something as simple as just praying!
Someone could be sagging under the pressure of it all and you could be the “fir strip” that helps hold them up!
Can’t find your spiritual gift?
Consider helping others!