The Laden Tree: When Life Gives You 150+ Guests

Hello magical friends!

A Week That Defied All Logic

The past week flew by in a blur of everything all at once. My husband completed his big Catalina to Newport outrigger canoeing race, and then we came home to a house full of 150+ guests.

No, I'm not joking.

How? Why? And are you crazy? you ask...

Let me answer that last one first. Yes. We are. Obviously.

But I'll do almost anything in the name of love, which is why we agreed to host the second annual romantic white party for a local young professionals organization. Last year's party was epic, and I'm told more than one match was made. So how could I refuse round two?

Fortunately, we didn't have to do much besides show up in the backyard wearing white. The organizers made it easy for me to live out my dream of hosting a modern-day, Jane Austen-style ball. I like to think of the beach house as a bluff-front Netherfield Park, and imagine my neighbors all saying "Netherfield is let at last!" when we moved in. I can also imagine my paternal grandmother smiling down at all those matches being made on our grounds.

33 Miles of Open Water

Let's go back to that race for a moment, because my husband deserves kudos for paddling 33 miles across open water in a canoe. The idea terrifies me. My idea of a marathon is writing three massive novels and completing a series in just over a year!

I was glad we could be there at the finish line to cheer him on. He's been my constant cheerleader while finishing this series. We might not be running the same races, but we're both chasing dreams and pushing hard while doing it. I'm looking forward to some much-needed R&R with him next month. We both need it.

The Laden Tree Wisdom

As we went through all the hectic moments of our weekend, I kept thinking about one of the oracle cards from The Magpie Oracle. It's called "The Laden Tree"—about "too much of a good thing" and the need to make choices. I just couldn't bear to prune anything in my personal life this weekend. I'm still struggling with this one.

Here's a sneak peek at the Laden Tree oracle card from the Magpie deck:

The fruit tree groans under the weight of its own abundance. What began as promise and plenty has become strain and struggle. Branches that once reached skyward now bow earthward, threatening to snap under the very success they worked to achieve.

This card appears when you have said yes to too many harvests, when your branches extend in every direction without the strength to support them all. Like the tree that bears more fruit than its limbs can hold, you may find yourself overburdened by opportunities, commitments, and responsibilities that individually would be blessings, but collectively threaten to break you.

Orchard keeper's wisdom dictates: Not every fruit must be kept, not every branch allowed to bear. There is no shame in wielding the pruning knife, no failure in choosing quality over quantity. The tree that selectively drops fruit ensures the remaining harvest will ripen sweet and strong.

Consider where your branches bend beyond their capacity. What fruits, though promising, might you release so that others may flourish? Abundance comes not from bearing all you can, but from bearing what you can bear gracefully.

Note: I'll be sending out the PDF to download and print all 18 cards in the deck to you, my newsletter subscribers, on or after October 1st. 

No matter your personal spiritual beliefs, the Magpie Oracle deck offers wonderful cards for self-reflection.