Remember that scene from Forrest Gump when Bubba names all the different ways to eat shrimp? That’s how I felt when we went apple picking. I kept imagining apple fritters, apple dumplings, apple pie, apple cake, candied apples, caramel apples, apple popovers, applesauce, apple slices, apple turnovers, stewed apples on pork chops…But all my dreams went up in apple-cinnamon-scented smoke when we discovered the picked-over orchard; only a few Arkansas Black remained. But then waaaaaay in the back we found the Asian pears growing on the most twisted, spindly, leafless trees…an unexpected find in an unlikely place. My little people tasted one right there and found it didn’t need to be baked, fried, or even peeled. You wouldn’t know it to look at them, but those trees provided perfectly sweet fruit, just the right size to eat in one sitting. I “happened upon” Jesus just like that years ago when I was out on a date with my future Hubby. I wasn’t looking for Him, but there Jesus was—unexpected, yummy, one-size-fits-all fruit. “For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, And as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; And when we see Him, There is no beauty that we should desire Him…But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.” Isaiah 53:2, 5
