The SONshine Garden Spreading SONshine Through Words Of Life For the Lord God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly. Psalms 84:11 |
Recipe For Living |
During a commercial, I sat amused as an actor expounded the virtues of a cleaner that he said would remove stains. Immediately my mind flashed to fruits. There are at least two fruits that provide permanent stains. Many people are aware of when the stain occurs; but the location is not always evident. Thus, when the brown stain appears, it is surprisingly stubborn. I wanted to volunteer those fruits and a few garments with the stain in order to discover the validity of their claim. I grabbed a pen, some paper and brainstormed. This method of generating ideas is wild yet productive. A writer is discriminant and observant. Discrimination provides a selective focus and purpose. Observation caters to perspective and scrutiny. During one writing session, I sat on the front porch and gazed at the guinep tree. A flood of ideas rushed my pen; but some escaped through the sluice gate of procrastination. While I was gazing, one branch seemed to come to life. Was it the apple juice, the water or my new glasses? After a few intent moments, I saw it. A ring- neck dove was sitting on a branch,camouflaged except for the dark ring around its neck. I had noticed it when the dove bobbed its head while pecking at its feathers. How is a ring- neck dove in a tree relevant to Christian living? Is it not true that there are many camouflaged Christians? They fit in perfectly in the Christian community.. Is this good or bad? One young person who frequented night clubs met a youth leader there unexpectedly. The only question they could ask each other was: What are you doing here? Both of them were too shocked to answer their own question! They went to church the next morning; and the youth leader taught the youth class. Both of them were too embarrassed to look at each other because their standard for Christian living prohibited them from socializing at a night club or imbibing alcoholic beverages. Society tells young people that all the fun occurs at a night club; and if they do not try it, they should not judge it. The youth of today have many choices ; and the activities they engage in are based on their convictions and relationship with the SON. On the other hand, a camouflage is good. Finding a guinep that has been pecked by a dove is as rare as finding teeth in a hen. The dove does not yield to the temptation of abundant, nearby syrupy fruit. Since the dove came to rest, its experience is comparable to abiding under the shadow of the Almighty God. During the time of rest, God allows man to remain in His sheltered, protective custody, to rest and be refreshed before continuing the pilgrimage of life. Wearing the whole armor of God is a camouflage. The Prayer Connection experience encouraged my sister and me to rise at 5:00 a.m. for praise, intercessory prayer and Bible reading. When God impressed the importance of Ephesians 6: 10- 18 on us, we began to mime dressing in the whole armor of God by reciting a Bible text for each piece as we put it on. For the helmet of salvation, we used Psalms 27:1 often. One morning, my nephew was involved in a traffic accident. His head hit the windshield; and the glass shattered. He was taken to hospital. There was no visible injury; and the x-ray ruled out internal damage. We were thankful. The helmet of salvation is not physical; and there is no routine for putting it on. However, Jesus used the tangible and physical to convey spiritual lessons. Without Jesus and His protection, man cannot escape the snares and dangers of life. A few days later, the guinep tree provided another unexpected lesson. My brother invited me to catch the guineps when he clipped the branches. At first I thought that he would use the big clippers, but he used the pruning shears. Every year the tree is pruned; and during every guinep season, it is laden with fruits. Although we did not think they were ready, the boys from the neighbourhood had been making frequent trips to sample our charismatic guineps. Even when they are not full according to our standards, they still taste sweet and attract a crowd who return for more. The most valuable lesson of the season was when my brother allowed me to sample fruits from two different locations. The light coloured ones that had been exposed to strong sunlight were sinfully sweet. They melted in the mouth; and they were so tasty, the seed seemed to want to stay forever! I wondered what commercial could be written for them. The ones that grew in the shade were sweet; but they were tangy and left an aftertaste and coating on the tongue. Their tanginess curbed any desire for intemperance.. When I remarked about the difference, my brother told me the guineps were indicative of life. They came from the same tree; but the ones that got the most sunshine were the sweetest. In the same way, some people are pleasant while others leave an aftertaste in your experience. Jesus said that people are known by their fruit. Does the fruit you produce receive enough consistent SONshine? |
Copyright (c) 2002 F. Faye Brooks All Rights Reserved |
