For weeks I was gazing up at them.  Green and plump.  Hanging there on my tree.  Waiting. 

“Not yet.  Wait until they start turning red.”  I had said.

Another few weeks went by.  A slight blush began to appear.

“Not yet”, I said again.

Another week. Put them in a net, I was advised. Creatures would get to them in the dark of night.  I knew it, but I was testing the waters, pushing nature a bit more to trust in the process, or I was just too lazy to get to the task which had to be done. 

“Another week”, I said.

Then I heard it.  And I had to hear it from the wise one who had demanded the nets.  “Oh no!  They’re gone!”  Well, I had been warned.

My lovely bunch of cherries, at least twenty or more – all gone.  Not a peel left.  The only remnants were found scattered in brutal pieces on the garden floor.  They had vanished from the face of the earth, or were actually in the guts of some lucky creatures who had been spying on me all along, and were now laughing at me in the distance. 

My bad.  Their feast.

But there was still hope! 

Other branches of the tree held the promise of a tasty, albeit humble crop to come.  While still green, these cherries would be tended to and would certainly make up for the loss.

So out came the net bags, now diligently tied around the precious baubles of nature that were left – reminders of the approaching Christmas celebrations.  All good.  They’ll be fine, I thought.  Another week, I said.

Indeed they stayed there day after day.  No sign of interference from my giggling creatures.  Gotcha!  I said.  Now I get to feast.

So a few more weeks came and went, and they ripened.  Some turned into the rich dark red cherries we all know and love.  A few eventually fell off the branch and into the bag.  Easy.  I didn’t have to pick those.  Harvest time!

Down came the bags with their contents.  But something didn’t look right.  There were gaping holes in the netting where tiny teeth had picked their way through. These creatures must really be addicted to cherries, I thought.

Still, some cherries were there.  Then I noticed some had become mouldy after our Summer rain and heat.  Others had holes where insects had started chomping their way to heaven.  A few more looked shriveled with dried skin.  So I desperately washed what was left of the contents of bag one, and sucked on half a cherry.  Poor me. It was only a year or two ago that I had two bowls full of the stuff.

Then I looked at bag two.  Thankfully there were three cherries.  Two plump, and one drying out, but fairly decent cherries nonetheless.  This was my ‘bumper’ harvest of 2018.  What’s a MuSinGer to do?

Sometimes as a gardener, and as a human being, we just have to deal with what life brings. Sometimes you may feel that you just can’t win.  Sometimes even when you trust nature, orother people, or hold onto a positive attitude, you may still feel like your heart has been stomped on.

But this is where God comes in.

My little cherries barely look like the ravishing ones in the lovely picture for this post. They don’t even glisten in the light like they do.  Their skin has pockmarks, and holes are starting to turn the red into black.  But I will cut up what I can and eat it.  I will share with others the pieces that God made for us to savour.

You see, the very fact that He designed those three little cherries, as imperfect and awkward as they are, means that you never give up on Him, or on life.  Never.

You might feel that an injustice has been done to you, or that your time has been wasted investing yourself in a project, in your workplace, your art, music, or that your job hunting is taking forever, an illness won’t leave you, or a person has let you down. 

Whatever it may be, think of the God who cares enough to leave a musing gardener three little cherries to enjoy.  I could be sour and ask why He let the creatures of the dark take away the fifty or so other cherries I had.  But I didn’t use the net when I needed to.  I didn’t intervene early enough.  I didn’t help myself by being lazy either. 

Look for the good in your life, even if you are going through what feels like hell.  Pray to the God who makes rivers, oceans, kittens, mountains, and fleas.  Even if you hear nothing, He will give you something – even a little piece of something – to work on, and things will get better with time and wisdom.

I know what I will do next time.  My three little cherries on the table remind me that it is important to take the blessings that I have, and build on new beginnings. 

One more thing. Did you notice in the picture above that the stems form a special shape in the centre?  What could that be? 

It is obvious, isn’t it?  His love for you is the centre and the secret.  Let’s pursue that as the true reward of our lives. 

Image Credit: pixabay.com