Apple Picking

At the beginning of the Book of Genesis is the story of creation. On day three we read, “Then God said, ‘Let the land sprout with vegetation – every sort of seed-bearing plant, and trees that grow seed-bearing fruit. These seeds will then produce the kinds of plants and trees from which they came.’ And that is what happened. The land produced vegetation – all sorts of seed-bearing plants, and trees with seed-bearing fruit. Their seeds produced plants and trees of the same kind. And God saw that it was good” (Genesis 1:11-12).

We are so blessed to call earth our home. There is such an amazing variety of animal and plant life here. Anyone who has seen an episode of “Planet Earth” narrated by David Attenborough knows this to be true.

I was reminded how lucky we are to live on this third rock from the sun when Renée and I went apple picking a couple of weekends ago at Belltown Orchards in Glastonbury, CT. It was the perfect day for it. Not too hot. Not too cool. It was just right. I remember apple picking growing up. It was an annual tradition in our family. However, I only remember a couple of choices being available. Belltown Orchards has twenty-four varieties to choose from! We like honeycrisp apples so that’s what we picked. The trees were so loaded we only had to visit a couple of trees and our bag was full! Additionally, we were also able to pick some pears and peaches! They were delicious! Yes, I sampled one of each. Later, Renée made some apple bread and apple pie. Nothing like a fresh slice of sugar-free apple pie with some Breyer’s sugar-free vanilla ice cream.

It amazes me that Adam and Eve had all of this in Eden. All of this variety was at their fingertips, and they didn’t have to work for it. God provided it for them. In Eden there was also no sickness, no natural disasters like the recent hurricane in Puerto Rico, no death. It truly was paradise. And yet, it wasn’t enough, was it? They wanted more. That which they were specifically told they could not have. Fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

We often think “Adam! Eve! Why? You had it all! God provided everything for you!” Yet are we really all that different? God has given us health, a family, a job, food, shelter, and unconditional love, and yet just like Adam and Eve, sometimes we still want more. We want things He explicitly told us were not okay. We want to do things He explicitly told us not to do. Yeah, sadly, we should not point fingers because the story of Adam and Eve gets replayed everyday all over the world. Including often in our own lives.

The writer of Hebrews tells us to, “…be satisfied with what you have” (Hebrews 13:5). Amen. My friends, God has truly blessed you. He has blessed all of us! Come on! Twenty-four different varieties of apples! And they just grow on trees! God created honeybees to pollinate the tiny apple blossom flowers and they grow into edible fruit. It’s crazy! God saw that it was good, and it is!

Perhaps the next time you bite into an apple, have some applesauce, or a slice pie with ice cream, may it remind you of Adam and Eve and how we really should be satisfied with what we have.         

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