It is Nothing Without Fruit

It is week thirty-five in our fifty week calligraphic challenge, and the prompt was mountains and valleys. I had a great idea, which was rather literal. I did three pieces all of which were major disappointments. I slept on it, then the idea that the word ‘mountaintop’ has lots of humps and the word “valley” have lots of dips…which made me think somehow of black and white. I wrote the quote in red…

Mountaintops are for views and inspiration, but fruit is grown in the valley.

-Billy Graham

We all seek those thrilling moments, the ones we remember and talk about for the rest of our days. That vacation that brought us great adventure, the time we met someone, the places we’ve seen and the emotional thrills we experienced. All of these mountain top moments in life give us great inspiration and reminders that life can be extraordinary even when we least expect it.

Real life happens in the valleys. Everyday we live, work, play, learn and become. And these things may not be mountain top moments, yet they are where we become AND where we grow the fruit of our lives. The simple choices we make everyday are the seeds we plant and produce the bounty that is what we leave behind once we are done. Growing fruit is a long term process, one that requires attention and diligence…which are not always very exciting or sexy. Without fruit, without food we die. Which means we have to be wiling to do the boring, daily stuff to yield the fruit of our lives.

When your day seems mundane or not fun, not at all a mountain top experience. Remind yourself that fruit is grown in the valley, and life is nothing without fruit.