God’s Orchard

By Anna Galeniece

When Ellen White moved to Cooranbong, Australia, she bought a big piece of land. But there was a problem—no one had ever lived or worked there before! There were no houses, no gardens, and no orchards. So she set up three tents. One was for her, her granddaughter Ella, and a helper. The second was for cooking and eating, and the third was for the men who helped with the land.

Camping in a tent for several nights is fun, but living in it for a longer time becomes a challenge! Mrs. White knew she needed a real house, but she had an important plan first. She wanted to plant an orchard full of fruit trees and grow a vegetable garden. Fresh fruits and vegetables would provide good food for her family and neighbors. Since it was the perfect time of year for planting, she decided to get started right away!

Mrs. White ordered peach trees from a man named Mr. Mosely. He was an expert in growing fruit and knew all about planting trees.

“Thank you for buying peach trees from my farm. I will bring them on Sunday,” Mr. Mosely said.

When he arrived with the trees, he told Mrs. White, “I’d be happy to show you the best way to plant them.”

She smiled. “Thank you! But I have special instructions for planting that were shown to me in a dream.”

Mrs. White’s workers followed her instructions carefully, just as she had seen in her vision. Mr. Mosely watched closely. The more he saw, the more amazed he became!

“I never knew there was a better way to plant trees,” he admitted. “You don’t need any lessons from me!”

Some people think that God is concerned with only big things. But this story shows that He cares about our everyday lives, too. Ellen White didn’t just write down God’s messages—she lived them! By planting her orchard the way God had shown her, she taught the people around her an important lesson.

“The hand and head must cooperate in our daily tasks,” Mrs. White said.

The workers at the new school wanted to use the same planting method for the school orchard. Even people from the community wanted to follow Mrs. White’s example. Her orchard became a blessing to many because she listened to God’s guidance!

This story has been modified from Arthur L. White, Ellen G. White: The Australian Years, 1891-1900, vol. 4, pp. 221-224.