Experiences of Life

Yesterday John and I stopped at a pumpkin patch out in the country on one of the roads we travel to church. Their parking lot was beyond full and there were hundreds of people scattered over the acres of ground, searching for the perfect pumpkin. John had a definite image of his perfect pumpkin, too. It needed to be very round and symmetrical and orange.

We were still in our church clothes but we just wanted one pumpkin to set on our front step and six strange-shaped gourds needed for a youth event at church. We walked up to the building to find out what the process was and noticed a table of large pumpkins that were already weighed and priced. We discovered we could choose one of those pumpkins and pay for it, rather than walking through the pumpkin patch. That sounded good to John so he chose a nice, big round orange pumpkin marked $10 and carried it out to the checkout stand. We noticed a table of gourds, so gathered six of the least-normal gourds and got in line at the stand. All the while we dodged the families pulling wagonloads of pumpkins, miniature straw bales, gourds, and other harvest goods. The pumpkin was heavy and John's back was already sore. We checked out and made our way back to our car with our purchases.

We also needed some rope for the youth event so we stopped at a farm store to buy some. Just outside the store we saw two huge crates filled with pumpkins, priced $2.99 each. John stopped to review them and assured me that ours was much bigger and more perfect and besides, it was all about the "experience" at the pumpkin patch.

"Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you. Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm" (Proverbs 4:23, 25, 26).