There is a community orchard in the country park near where I live. It has been planted relatively recently and the fruit trees are not any taller than I am. Some began to grow fruit, but they are nowhere near the state of being edible produce.
The information board says that it will take a few years for the orchard to mature. Patience is needed. It will be worth the wait, they wrote.
My initial reaction was that planting those trees was such a waste of resources. All those trees, ten of them, planted in the park, are absolutely useless for the foreseeable future. They are neither pretty nor useful.
But being patient and waiting will change everything. From pathetic stalks sticking out of the ground, beautiful and fruitful trees will develop.
While walking in the park, I've realised that I have the same impatient attitude towards my own conversion. I would like to be completely free from sin here and now. Right now. I often don't accept that conversion requires hard work and often a lot of time.
As a weak human being, I cannot just throw my old life behind me, never to return to bad old habits. I need to fight against them every day to grow in holiness. To be more charitable, to be more, kid, to be less jealous, to be less angry.
It's hard work. Really hard work. Conversion is a life-long project. I will never be done. But by the grace of God I hope that each day I become a better person. I hope that each day I become a little more like the One in whose image I've been created.
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