apple picking

Walking through the rows of trees, I stepped carefully around the fallen apples.  "These are good in this row, Katie," I interrupted my story to exclaim.

Every few paces, I stopped at a bundle of apples to look without touching first.  Attempts at examining at first glance which one was the best.  And then, without hesitation, I zeroed in on one and plucked it off the tree.

Turning it around in my hand, I looked for blemishes.  If I was the slightest bit dissatisfied, I tossed it on the ground.  Even if it was a relatively good looking piece of fruit, I didn't want to pay for something that wasn't the best.  Unwilling to mess around with anything ordinary.

Picky?  Maybe.  But I'd like to call it cautious.  Pruning, in an orchard containing good apples, to only allow the best in my life.

I found one to munch on and passed it to Katie to take a bite as we moved on to another row.  My favorite season.  My favorite autumn activity.  And my favorite kind of apple.  Simple and good.

The simplistic things in life are really the most cherished.  Like the short quiet times I spend with Jesus each day.  Or the simple message of the Gospel.  Or the look in someone's eyes when they hear for the first time that Jesus wants a relationship with them.  Simple.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

I spent the night with my second family.  We went out to dinner.  Talked.  Laughed.  Played.  Watched silly youtube videos.  For our last activity, Robin and I made a pie with some of the apples I had picked earlier in the day.

Using the simple gifts to create something more complex.

The simple sustains you.  The simple gets you going.  But we are to produce from the simple.

Jesus does a work in my heart each day, so that I can feel the sweetness of His presence, yes, but more importantly so that I can go and make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:18-20).  What is the use of me growing in my knowledge of the Gospel and in my spiritual gifts if I do not then use them to further the Kingdom?

And because I only allowed the best into my brown bag earlier that day, we were able to make a pretty great tasting apple pie later that night.  Pruning the good, even if it's hard.

Focusing on, spending our time on, and developing the best that God has for us so that we can, with Him, create something beautiful.  Create something complex.

Create something Kingdom-centered.