The Orchardist Who Wouldn't Dig Up His Trees

In 2012, Tom Krueger planted three hundred Honeycrisp apple trees on his small orchard outside Bayfield, Wisconsin. His neighbors were already harvesting established varieties and turning profits at the farmers' market. Tom's trees stood bare and spindly against the snow, producing nothing.

For three full years, Tom pruned, sprayed, fertilized, and waited. Friends suggested he pull the trees and plant something faster. His brother-in-law called it a money pit. Some mornings, Tom walked the rows wondering if he'd made a terrible mistake. But he knew something about Honeycrisp trees — they take time. The root system has to establish itself deep in the cold Wisconsin clay before it can bear the fruit the world actually wants.

In year four, the first blossoms appeared. By year six, Tom was selling out at the Bayfield Apple Festival before noon, his Honeycrisps so crisp and sweet that customers drove from Duluth just to fill their bags.

James tells us to consider the farmer who waits for the early and late rains. He doesn't dig up the seeds in frustration. He doesn't grumble at his neighbors' quicker harvests. He trusts the process because he understands the soil. The Almighty is doing deep root work in your life right now — work that must happen beneath the surface before anything beautiful breaks through. Like the prophets before us, we are called not to anxious striving but to steady, established hearts. The harvest will come.