When we bought this farm, there was a small old heifer shed up on the hill west of our barn. It was in bad shape, but we used it for a number of years to house our mid-sized heifers. In those early years, we didn’t have a skid loader to clean it out with, so we did it the old-fashioned way – by hand with manure forks. And Joanne and I gladly did it; we were so thankful to have our own farm to serve the Lord on.

Oftentimes in the fall and winter months when I would go up there to clean it out or to feed the heifers, I would be eating an apple. When I would finish eating the apple, I would throw the core off into the area west of the building. That area was a steep hillside that was really rough and brushy. Years before, a previous owner had dug a bunch of shale rock out of the hill there.

Eventually, one of those apple seeds germinated and grew. It was just 2 feet on the other side of the heifer fence on an extremely steep slope. Not the ideal place for an apple tree.

The tree grew and got several feet tall. It was a terrible scraggly-looking apple tree and I never did get an apple from it. Then it happened. My old heifer shed got to the point where it was getting dangerous to use anymore. So we took it down and got an excavator in with a large backhoe to move more of the hill away. In the process of doing it, he ran over our apple tree with the tracks on his backhoe. I figured the tree was dead. Finished.

We then built a bigger, better heifer shed. It’s been excellent and a real blessing to us and to our cattle. What about the apple tree, you ask? It wasn’t dead like I figured. Somehow, from the roots in that shale rock on that super steep hillside, it started to grow again. I didn’t think much of it though, since it never did give me an apple. I decided it could stay there, since it would give my heifers some shade on real hot sunny days.

Since we all really like to eat apples, I have bought and planted a number of apple trees over the years. So the other day when my daughter said to me, “Have you seen that apple tree up there this year with all those beautiful apples on?”

I was bewildered. I replied, “What apple tree do you mean?”

“That one on the shale rock slope,” she replied.

I said, “Not that one; that one never gets any apples on it.”

“Yes,” she replied. “It’s just loaded with beautiful apples this year.”

I could hardly believe it. I had to climb down to it from the top of the hill through a whole bunch of brush, being careful not to fall, to see the amazing sight.  

It was beautiful, loaded with lots of bright red apples just gleaming in the sunshine. Seeing I had never gotten an apple off of that tree in 20 years, I expected I never would. Boy, was I wrong. Now, I’m looking forward to harvesting those apples and tasting them for the first time. I know it will be a challenge harvesting them on that super steep hillside, but it will be a pleasure to do so.  

It’s amazing how that tree grew from one apple seed in an apple core that I threw out there many years ago in such a harsh environment. And yet today, it is so beautiful to look upon. Catherine says that she oftentimes likes to look out the barn window and see it up there with all its bright red apples. I know of one other thing that is far more amazing and beautiful than that. That is when a person turns from their sinful ways and follows Jesus. It doesn’t matter how their lives started out or what a harsh environment they are in. The change in their lives is incredible and the fruit they bear is wonderful. I know this from personal experience.