On
our farm in Tennessee, you will often encounter the Hedge Apple tree. This tree was used in the mid-nineteenth
century as a natural hedge—a living fence.
It has a fruit thought to be hazardous to cattle but recently has been
proven non-toxic. If the cow dies from
eating the fruit it is usually from choking.
It also has the common name Bodark.
I have cut and burned much of it to create more grazing for our
cattle. Left unattended, a farm can be
overtaken by this prolific tree.
Kudzu
may be a plant with which you are more familiar. It has been dubbed “the vine that ate the
south.” It is a plant brought here for the purpose of erosion control. In the growing season, kudzu can grow one
foot a day. In its native land of China,
Korea and Japan, it has many uses. It is
very interesting so you might want to read up on this vine that can appear
beautiful; though we often consider it a curse to our landscape.
I am convinced that our growth in Christ is
much more eternal than creating borders or stopping erosion. Consider this with me—Grow to Go! Often in churches we grow to grow. We join one bible study after another to grow
our faith to grow our faith and then to grow…you see my point. Grow to go!
Looking at it another way, these two plants do teach us that very thing…Grow to
go!
