Squash Central

Recently my wife and I made a little outing to a duo of area orchards. We were looking for a small adventure and an activity to build our couple-time around. So we drove out to the countryside some miles north of here. It was a pleasant time and pleasant activity on a pleasant day.

Orchards in northwest Missouri and northeast Kansas typically featured a gift shop and a fascinating array of goods for sale. It was certainly the case at both stops we made. You can’t make a living selling just apples, or so it appears. Or at least you cannot make the kind of living you can if you offer food novelty items, cook books and candies, aprons and soaps, wall art and children’s toys.

As you might guess, there was a lot to charm and entice. We did purchase a bag of apples. And, as strange as this sounds, we bought a pumpkin lover’s recipe book at the apple orchard. The cider donuts we skipped, and we did not venture out into the corn field maze though it did look intriguing.

What I found absolutely spellbinding were the multiple varieties of gourds and squashes being sold alongside the season’s dominating pumpkins and apples. All sizes, shapes, and shades. Fascinating names, brilliant colors, nonstop beauty; it was a visual smorgasbord.

As wonderfully varied as this fall’s squash and gourds are, they are not nearly as captivating as the various people I come across in God’s Kingdom. Such an endless assortment! The range of personalities, temperaments, skills, interests, and histories is mind-boggling!

In unnumbered ways God has fashioned His people. His creativity speaks volumes about His inventive mind and our distinctive roles in His plan. God is up to something big here.

There are moments when any of us are tempted to see ourselves as unuseful. We run up against life’s experiences to discover there that we are not all we wish we were. It discourages us. Our value drops in our own estimation. And yet God gets the final word on this subject, too.

What God has put in place in making and molding each of us uniquely challenges us to find and fill our place in His plan. This is not easily done. There is too much mystery, too much dependence on another‘s insight to make this a simple task. Diversity is problematic.

But if God is anything He is capable, capable in putting us together and capable in putting us where we can know His place of personal blessing, of significance, and of service. God always has a way to say it and be heard.

If “Lord, take me where you want me” is your prayer, His reply will be, “Gladly!”

Tim Gramly
South Haven Baptist Church
Belton, Missouri
Oct. 28, 2009