In a heavenly, green, and pristine mount valley of Northern Israel, which was known as sheep country, lived a prosperous and happy family, whose lives were centered on each other and the two businesses that kept them fed and clothed. The father, Isaac was an expert in animal husbandry, and cared for a sizeable, healthy flock of beautiful sheep. His wife, Isabel, was an expert in horticulture, who lovingly tended to the family’s large and fruitful grove of olive trees.
Their two children Maria and Simon were the joy and focus of their lives. As the children grew, it became clear to their parents that Simon possessed the skills, toughness, talents and qualities to be a great shepherd over what were sometimes stubborn and rebellious sheep, while Maria exhibited the gifts, understanding, patience and wisdom, that were required to maintain the fruitful grove of the fragile olive trees.
Based on those talents and gifts, Maria was assigned to tend the groves with her mother, so she could learn the intricacies of maintaining an olive grove, and then use her talents to assist her aging mother in that vital work among the trees. Similarly, Simon, would shadow his father, learning the details of all it took to maintain a healthy and productive flock.
At first both children we content in their assigned duties. They found joy in doing the work that so suited them, and in doing it very well. However, over time Maria began to notice a difference in how her bother was treated by the people in village. When she and her brother would take the products of their labor to market, the people would surround Simon, commenting on how handsome the sheep were, and remarking as to the great price such fine specimens would bring, attributing their beauty and appeal to his labors. On the other hand, almost no one beyond the vendor, even noticed Maria’s fruits. The olives were rich, filled with oil, and certainly nothing to be ashamed off. Sadly however, the focus of the village always seemed to be upon Simon, and his flocks.
On occasion Maria would mention her sadness to her mother, who would try to calm her with words of encouragement, reminding her that her labors were every bit as important to the family as her brothers. Recognizing the short sightedness of the villagers, Maria’s father, would also make extra efforts to uplift her, and to let her know how pleased he was with her gift, and the fruits that gift produced. Even Simon would tell her how much he admired her work acknowledging honestly that he could never have produced such fruits. Yet outside the close family, the world continued to lift Simon, and ignore, and sometimes even ridicule Maria. It was after all, sheep country.
Despite her family’s attempts to comfort and raise her spirits, Maria, grew sadder and less content in her work. The spirit of envy began to grow within her and she began to doubt the value of her efforts, which in turn affected her work and the grove began to suffer for it. Thoughts of unfairness crept into her mind. Why should she have to be the one to work in the grove when her parents knew they lived in sheep country? Was it because they loved and appreciated Simon more than her, after all they gave him the tasks that would be recognized, praised and honored by the villagers. The more she doubted her parent’s wisdom, fairness and even their love, the less influence they had upon her. It soon came to a point where they could no longer comfort her, because she began to see their attempts to encourage her as lies and deceits, invented to keep her laboring in a lesser and unrecognized work.
It was not long until Maria left home, seeking out a labor that would win her the acclaim, praise and honors of the world. Her leaving greatly hurt her parents and brother, and even the precious trees in the grove suffered from her actions and neglect. The delicate balance of the family trades were thrown off, as Simon had to spend some time helping his mother with the grove and less time helping his father with the sheep. His service to his mother was appreciated, but since his talents and abilities lay elsewhere, his work was not nearly as effective as Maria’s had been. But, they all did the best they could, and they all prayed for, longed for, Maria’s return.
Many years later, after Maria, had become world renowned for her ability to grow decorative and amazingly bright and popular flowers, Maria decided to return to her home to visit her brother. She knew from letters she had received that her parents had long since passed away, but she felt a strange sense of longing to see her old home and the groves she once delighted in as a child.
As she traveled down the road toward the house she noted the herds of beautiful sheep grazing on the hillside, and though the herds were smaller than what she remembered, they were still of the best quality, and she was content to see that her father’s legacy was still there for all to see.
However, as she drew even nearer to the house, she gasped with shock when she looked to the grove and saw only dry, dead and crumbling trees, surround by weeds and thorns which indicated years of neglect. Maria sat stunned for a long while, thinking upon all she had gained, and comparing it to what she now, at last, realized she had lost. She then remembered the love, tenderness, and sincerity of her departed parents, and she wept!