Recently a coworker shared with me a parable of “How is being a Christian like being a pumpkin?” There are many versions of this parable, but I shall share the simplest version.
God picks you from the patch,
brings you in, and washes all the dirt away.
Cuts of the top and removes all the yucky stuff.
He removes seeds of doubt, hate, bitterness, greed, etc.
Then He carves a new smiling face and puts His
light inside of you for the whole world to see.
I have replayed this parable in my mind over and over again. I have shared it with friends and my family. Last week, while on my morning run, I found myself thinking of this simple and yet true illustration. However, each time I recited this parable to myself I would get chocked up at “God picks you…”
God picked me. Tears spilled down my face and my run came to an abrupt halt. I thought about my parents who have two daughters, one biological and one adopted. I am their biological child. My mother had multiple miscarriages, but not with me. Until now I have never given it much thought. But now it is all I think about. God chose me.
“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go and produce lasting fruit, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask for using my name.” John 15:16
Because my sister is adopted I’ve always considered her “the chosen one.” In the past I’ve laughed at the thought that my parents were stuck with me, while she was the chosen one. The truth is we were both hand-picked for our family.
The truth is we are all hand-picked.
Yesterday was my parents 46th anniversary. We had a special time with my parents, my sister, and all five grandchildren. We ate and laughed and played games. Upon leaving, my mother mentioned, that her brother (a local farmer) planted over 50 acres of pumpkins. I shared with her the parable and my recent reflections on my matter. Tears welled up in my mother’s eyes, her expression filled with a mixture of joy and pain. For the first time, I learn that I have at least two siblings in heaven.
Chosen. Anointed. Hand-picked. I have been hand-picked to be the wife to my best friend, mother to two children, to live in this community, and to encourage those I meet. I don’t know what you’re currently facing. But no matter what season of life you are in, you have been hand-picked for “such as time as this.” Esther 4:14
~April
“May you and I be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith.” Romans 1:12
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