“Ackees in Jamaica bear as a 3-pod…to get a 4-pod is rare…to get a 5-pod is unheard of…the lessons of fruitfulness from my garden are a BLESSING!” So said architect, Dr. Patricia E. Green, who sent us these amazing images.
“I prune my trees, which bear low, so I can get to pick most of the fruit by hand,” explained Dr. Green. “If your trees are too high, it becomes difficult to benefit from the abundance of their blessings.”
Clearly, Dr. Green will be having a bumper harvest this year, enough to share and still much to stash away for a rainy day.
LESSON FROM A MENTOR
Some time ago, one of my mentors, a Trinidadian, shared a life lesson with me. The year was ending, and he asked me to accompany him to purchase food supplies for a gentleman who was in need. At the cashier, he suddenly remembered that he had not picked up dried codfish and insisted he had to get this staple item, not only for his friend but also for his own household. Off he dashed, leaving me with a long line of grumbling shoppers!
“When the holidays are over and most people have spent all their money, they are broke during January,” he taught. “But have you ever noticed that the ackee tree bears at the beginning of the year, so providing a constant supply of ‘meat’ from January to around March for the ‘empty-pocketed’?
“I have to ensure I have my saltfish ready for when the famine comes!” he winked, hinting at his love for Jamaica’s national dish—ackee and saltfish.
So, I learned a number of lessons that day:
- In your time of much, set aside some for the time of lean.
- Share with others who you know are in need.
- Ackees bear in times of lack, so I figured it must be God-blessed.
- Don’t listen to the grumblers today; prepare for tomorrow’s famine.
PHARAOH AND JOSEPH DURING THE FAMINE
Like Dr. Pat said, it seems to me that God is doing some miraculous things with ackees this year, because when I was planning to prune the tree that hangs over from my neighbour’s yard, I realised that it had started blossoming again. This is the third time in quick succession in the past six months, and the fruits are developing fast.
As I contemplated Dr. Pat’s and my own miraculous experience with the ackee tree, this passage of Scripture came to mind about Joseph’s interpretation of Pharaoh’s dream:
“This will happen just as I have described it, for God has revealed to Pharaoh in advance what he is about to do. The next seven years will be a period of great prosperity throughout the land of Egypt. But afterward there will be seven years of famine so great that all the prosperity will be forgotten in Egypt. Famine will destroy the land. This famine will be so severe that even the memory of the good years will be erased. As for having two similar dreams, it means that these events have been decreed by God, and he will soon make them happen.
“Therefore, Pharaoh should find an intelligent and wise man and put him in charge of the entire land of Egypt. Then Pharaoh should appoint supervisors over the land and let them collect one-fifth of all the crops during the seven good years. Have them gather all the food produced in the good years that are just ahead and bring it to Pharaoh’s storehouses. Store it away, and guard it so there will be food in the cities. That way there will be enough to eat when the seven years of famine come to the land of Egypt. Otherwise this famine will destroy the land.” Gen. 41:28-36