I experienced most of my childhood living in the country on a farm, however, from the time I was 3 until I was 9, we lived in town.
My grandparents always lived on the farm so during this time I frequently stayed with them. One of my most vivid memories of that time was my grandparent’s apple orchard. I can remember eating those apples as soon as they turned ripe. We would go out daily and pick up the apples as they fell from the tree because they would start to decay from lying on the ground. We would save bushels of apples in wicker baskets that grandma would use to make apple sauce, cooked apples, and my favorite; apple butter. Wow was it good!
Sometimes while we were picking up the apples on the ground, I would see an apple that looked just right that had not yet fallen from the tree. When my grandparents were not looking, I would climb the tree to pick that very special apple. It was never any better than the apples that had fallen to the ground. As a matter of fact, it would almost always be partially green because it was not completely ripe. I could not see that it had not yet ripened looking at it from the ground. I would spend a lot of energy and do something that I should not have been doing to get to an apple that would not be nearly as sweet as those lying right at my feet.
How often have we spent time and energy going after something that is not nearly as good as it looks? How many disappointments must we experience because the things we strive to obtain turn out to be sour? Do we have to wait until others are not looking to go after them? Are the best things in life lying right there at our feet?
These and other life questions will be addressed Sunday morning as “The Gathering Place Family” meets in the Washington High School Gymnasium at 10 a.m. for our Pre-Service Connection where we enjoy coffee, juice and donuts. Our Worship Service and Children’s Church then begins at 10:30. Come at 7 p.m. and be part of our Wednesday night Bible Study and Children’s Ministry on the third floor above Trends at 120 West Court St. in Washington C.H.
