Good Fruit (17/31)

I spent the afternoon on a farm doing ‘harvest work.’

Really that work was pulling up tomato and pepper plants and cutting string that down that was supporting them.

The string was tied to a series of metal stakes locked in the ground. Each stake standing about 5 feet tall. AS we were pulling plants and clipping strings, Eric, the farm manager, was telling us how short the tomato plants were this year. They barely grew to half the stake height, about 2 ½ feet at the tallest. He said normally the plants were just as high as the stakes.

I looked at the tomato plants I was pulling up. Many of them were still heavy with produce gone bad from the cold temperatures and I thought, just because something doesn’t grow as big as it should doesn’t mean it can’t bear good fruit.

Those plants produced plenty of tomatoes all summer. They didn’t get the proper heat at the beginning of the summer and not enough water at the end of the season when it was dry and hot, but they still produced fruit. They locked into the soil and they grew what they could.

I think sometimes we are placed in situations in life that are not ideal. Not our dream.

Currently, I’m in a career and a job that I really just don’t like that much. I could give up. I could wither up and die because I can’t reach full potential in this spot.

Or I can dig in and produce fruit. It may not be the best fruit- but its fruit nonetheless.

I never liked the term ‘seasons’. When people say: ‘Oh we’ve just been in this really hard season of life.’ I always thought it sounded sort of cliché and it wasn’t a term I would use. I think that is because I never really understood it.

I can say, without a doubt, I am in a tough season right now with my job. I KNOW this is not what I’m supposed to be doing with my life. I also know that for now, I have to.

It’s a season because at some point it’s going to end and something new is going to begin. Just as the heat of summer fades away and the cool dark days of fall set in, the love affair of me and corporate America is growing cold.

But you know what comes after the dreary, cold days of winter?

Spring.

Light and warmth.

New growth.

Tonight I spent a couple hours at the coffee shop with my upline (fancy business term in network marketing for sponsor) hearing success stories about the business I’m starting.

These people were just like me- in a place in their career that was demanding and unfulfilling, feeling like if they had more time they could do the things they really wanted to do. And then this opportunity came along.

These men and women have not only been able to supplement their income. They’ve been able to:

• Quit a corporate job for their own schedule and more family time
• Enable their spouse to quit a dead-end job for something they really love
• Start a dream business
• Start a nonprofit and use their success to fund a cause they are passionate about

I have never felt so encouraged in my entire life.

THIS is what I’ve been looking for. The perfect vehicle to my BIG dreams- opening the coffee shop, writing, volunteering and being a ‘stay at home’ person.

The best part about this business?

In order to be successful all I have to do is share my story.

I’m a connector innately. I want to meet you and share my dreams and have you tell me about yours. I want to talk about how those dreams can come true. I want to see you succeed. Deep down, I have a lot of love for everyone. Seriously- everyone. I just really love people.

And I cannot WAIT to start sharing the love. This business is just the beginning.

I’ll keep plugging away, day after day, to produce fruit during this time. I’ll dig in and do the hard work.

But I’m really looking forward to the next season.

Two things:

1. I did ZERO editing to these pictures. That's how beautiful the farm was.

2. If you are at all interested in what I'm up to, please email me. I want to tell you about it!! nicmarie17@gmail.com