I was so proud of the fact that I had a webpage and shared this fact with my sons, separately. I said the url is R U Grafted. One of them could not hide the humor in his eyes and said, “rug rafted?” I know he was trying not to laugh but could not control himself. Eventually the snickers became bursts of laughter. It seems I always need lessons in humility, so I tried to be appreciative.
Truth is we chose the name of the webpage for two reasons.
Hickory trees and grafting:
First, Tammy and I live on her grandparents old home place in East Texas. In the pasture behind our house are some unique trees. Tammy’s grandfather, Fletcher Cadenhead, had many hickory trees on this land. A hickory nut is round, has a thick, hard shell and is very hard to open. There is a small amount of meat inside the shell.
In 1939 he cut the top off a few of those trees and grafted in pecan trees. The graft resulted in a paper shell pecan about as long as my thumb, with a very thin shell and a lot of meat in it. These trees are so rugged looking, unique and, to me, beautiful.
I have something in common with those trees. Once upon a time, many many years ago, there was a radical change in my life. I repented of my sins and was grafted into the lineage of Christ. Adopted into His family.
Pruning:
But there is another meaning. Tammy and I were missionaries in St Petersburg, Russia for 21 years. In Russia the most common url ending is .ru We had a great life in Russia but it was not easy. It changed us. So when I talk about RU Grafted, I am talking about the way living in Russia changed me. I hope for the better.
And pruned again:
The work in Russia was long and hard. In 2016 I realized God was removing me from that work. He was pruning the tree. I was okay with pruning because that produces more growth. But God was basically cutting the top off the tree, totally removing me from the work that I had nurtured for many years. This was extremely hard to accept.
It happened with me the same way it happened with the old hickory trees. When the grafting was done there was nothing but a stump left of the old hickory trees. When the pecan trees were grafted in the fruit of the trees drastically changed. As it was with the old hickory trees, so was it with my work in Russia. God removed us from Russia but the church is still there and growing. The fruit is not the same, but it is the fruit that God wanted.
The hickory/pecan tree:
Look at this tree. I don’t know if the pecan top was larger than the hickory stump when Tammy’s grandfather grafted it in 1939. It has the appearance of growing faster than the hickory. I like to think that is what God intended when He removed me from the work in Russia and grafted in another pastor. I am confident he will bring an abundance of fruit to God.
Agricultural grafting brings about radical change in the fruit that is produced. Eighty years later the old hickory trees are still bearing paper shelled pecans.
The grafting that God does in our lives can be a very humbling process. It can be painful and frustrating. God does this work in us because He wants us to share in His future glory. But He also wants others to taste and see that the Lord is good, by the fruit that we bear. And He wants us to bear as much fruit as possible. Jesus said, “Herein is my Father glorified, that you bring forth much fruit.”