When I was a kid my Dad would grow a garden in the summer. He liked to grow things like yellow squash, cucumbers, watermelons and cantalopes. Watching my mom and dad I learned how to tell when fruits and vegetables were ripe. You could usually touch it near the stem where it was attached and then it would almost fall away from the plant.

For a cantalope you would make sure the entire fruit had no green on it. I can remember picking a ripe cantalope from the vine on a hot summer day and then eating it so fresh that it would be warm from the sun beating down on it. I remember the orange flesh would be so juicy you felt like it was almost drinkable! Slicing it would be a little difficult because it would be soft but not mushy. And then right from the start, as soon as you had popped a piece into your mouth it would mostly melt on your tongue. And you would just hope that you could chew it up well enough before you swallowed.
And, oh, the sweetness of a vine ripe cantalope . . . like candy except you knew it would not give you cavities! It was a sweetness made by God and fresh from his oven of sunlight heating up his pie pan of rich soil and green leafy vegetation!
I was reading in the devotional Streams in the Desert. I picked out a sentence that describes today’s lesson. And I can easily say, God intended it for me.
Men would pluck their mercies green when the Lord would have them ripe.
Mercies from God come from the vine ripe blessings He intends to give us. These are blessings we feel are overdue. We’ve prayed for them throughout the years but they have not come. We get tired of praying. In frustration we may quit praying altogether. Then we may even get mad which could easily lead to bitterness because we feel we have earned them by now. We question God’s intentions. Our patience runs dry. (I say all this because I’m learning it.)
I wrote a post yesterday where I questioned my trust in God. I felt guilty about it later on. I wondered if it would cause people to go away from God. I don’t want to do that. And I even feared that I tempted God by saying such negative things aloud. Would He punish me?
I believe that my answer comes in the devotional I read today. I don’t fear that I angered God. I don’t think I’m a strong enough Christian to trust God if He chose to slay me. When Job spoke the words, “Though He slay me yet will I trust Him.”, he knew he could die from the painful boils he had. At that point in his life, he decided then that he would trust God. The Bible also says in the New Testament to take life one day at a time. “Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.” In other words, do what you need to do today to make it the best day you can and don’t get overwhelmed about the future.
So today, here’s what I can do. Work hard to fill my day with productivity and good things and enjoy the here and now with my children and husband. Strive to keep anger thoughts toward God out of my head and enjoy the newly found peace that I get from being around my four children more.