Back at the beginning of spring, S and I bought a meyer lemon tree. It was one of the most thrilling purchases I have made. I know that makes me a nerd, but still, it has brought so much happiness to my little corner of the world.
It had one tiny little lemon on it when we got it, and I could almost taste it's sweet lemon-y goodness, but that never happened. For some inexplicable reason, the tree dropped the lemon before the little jewel could ripen. It was a sad day.
After a few weeks of dutiful care and watering, blossoms bloomed all over the lovely plant. It made my whole main floor smell like a delicious lemon grove. It had been an unexpected surprise (aren't all surprises?). I knew it would bloom, but the SMELL! SO SO SO wonderful. I dutifully looked up how to pollinate the blooms by hand, and did so.
I began to wait expectantly for more little lemons to form and mature. Sadly, it was not to happen this season. Unknown to us, aphids are sneaky little bugs that can ruin all your hopes and dreams for homegrown, from scratch lemonade. They are so small they can sneak through the screens on your windows...and those same screens keep their predators (namely ladybugs) out. It was a losing situation for us. At first, I wasn't sure what those specks on the tree were, and then, before I knew it, they multiplied to a number that was too great to squash with simple interventions like putting ladybugs that we found on the leaves.
My son's respite aide came to the rescue. She suggested spraying the much loved tree with a weak soap and water solution and put it outside until the offensive little critters were gone. It worked! After about two months of living on our table outside the tree was free from aphids. We brought it back inside and continued our vigilant care of baby tree.
It was growing. It was putting out new leaves and growth all over the place. The only thing hampering it's growing season were my girls' desire to remove its leaves.
Then, this past week, I noticed something. The aphids had made a return to my plant! I put several lady bugs on the tree, hoping it would stop their advance. It might have helped, but today, I had to take matters in to my own hands.
I wiped down most of the leaves, took it back outside and sprayed it with a Castille/water solution, and then I took to washing down every inch of the wall and counter where my lemon tree lives. There were little bugs EVERYWHERE! UGH! They had even wiggled their way into the space between the windows! It's a buggy nightmare. I've now vacuumed, washed, prayed, and now am hoping that this aphid problem is squashed.
In all of this, though, it sounds a lot like living life with temptation, doesn't it? We work on it. We get advice, and it seems to go away for a time, but often, right under our noses, when we aren't paying the closest of attention it HITS us. Sometimes, we don't give in and all we have to do it batten down the hatches and up our watch on this area, other times it is a huge problem and the fruit in our life is forfeit. In any season, though, we have to guard our hearts and rely on God's grace to overcome.
Where are the aphids in your life? Is it time to check for them again? Have you recently taken stock of how you are doing?
XO,
J
Soli Deo Gloria
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