Green Grapes and Missed Blessings

Green Grapes and Missed Blessings...

There once was a little fellow who was very small, and yet quite wise in his own eyes. As his mother strapped him into his seat for the evening meal, he excitedly jabbered away, all the while pointing to the refrigerator across the room. His mother knew that he thought of only one thing - green grapes. You see, this little fellow loved green grapes with a passion. They were his favorite thing, and he was certain in his heart that all he needed to be happy at that moment were some green grapes.

His mother smiled as she quickly heated up his dinner - mashed spaghetti and some chilled cottage cheese. She smiled to herself because she was anticipating the moment that she would be able to bless her son with several sliced green grapes. She knew that he could not live on grapes alone. She knew what he didn't know - that he needed some solid nutritious food in his body to keep him healthy and alive. She desired the best for her son because she loved him, yet all the while she looked forward to the moment when he had finished his dinner, and she could give him some green grapes - or maybe something even better like a chocolate chip cookie. Now, a cookie would really be a treat for the little guy, and he would be so surprised. Again, she smiled.

Despite her fun and wise plans, dinner time did not unfold in this way. As soon as she offered the first bite of warm spaghetti to her son, he pushed it away. She firmly instructed him and continued to offer the yummy food. The little fellow preceded to cry, then to scream louder and louder, his little face becoming bright red. He stomped his feet and pushed angrily at his mother which resulted in a couple spanks. As this dreadful cycle continued, the little boy reached the point of being so miserable that he was gagging on his sobs. His mother could have stopped the whole scene by yielding to his will and giving him the grapes, yet she loved him.

She was able to see forward to what he could not see. She saw tomorrow's meal, when he would need to eat. She saw the coming summer months, when he would need to stay out of the busy street. She saw years ahead to his adult relationship with God. She saw one thing - surrender. He needed to learn how to trust, and because of that, she continued to lovingly, ask him to take his food. When none of her firm entreaties worked, she let him work out the rest of his screaming alone in his bed. It hurt her to hear him cry, but as soon as he quieted, she ran in and scooped him back up into her arms. She told him how much she loved him, she told him that she knew what was best for him. She asked him to obey - simply to obey. He couldn't understand that grapes and a cookie would be waiting on the other side of an obedient meal, and she didn't tell him. He needed to obey because of who she was, because he choose to trust her over his own desires and feelings, not because he was going to get his way.

They went together back into the kitchen where the warmed up food was presented again. Though the little guy did manage to eat his food, it was not without much fighting and willfulness. Sadly, there weren't any green grapes for dessert, and there wasn't that special surprise of a chocolate chip cookie, which he would have loved to enjoy. Instead, there were puffy red eyes, a little sob in his breathing, and most likely, quite a headache - all reminders of the pain he had chosen for the evening over what could have been a delightful mealtime.

The mother tenderly rocked her baby to sleep that night, smoothing his hair and cuddling his precious little body. She so desperately wished that she could have blessed him above his wildest dreams (of green grapes) that evening, but she knew it would not be a healthy blessing for him, until he learned to surrender and receive from her hand. Tomorrow, she would try again. She closed her eyes to pray her baby's goodnight prayer, and he watched her with wide eyes. Soon sound sleep overwhelmed him.

This little grape lover is my precious son, and I learned quite a lesson from him that night. I hope that you can also see the clear parallels between Glendon's tantrum - and our arguing with God's best/refusal to surrender, between his love of green grapes - and our love of ourselves/our wants, between his misery - and the consequences sin causes in us, between his missed grapes/cookie - and our missed blessings that God is just waiting to pour out upon us. Can we not just look at our Father's face, open our mouths and eat of His goodness. Never mind the fact that what we want hasn't shown up on the horizon. What we don't feel, but need to trust, is that God's best for us will not only meet our needs, but far outweigh our wildest dreams. I thank the Lord for giving me such a clear visual of what this tremendous sin can do. I hope you've been challenged and encouraged, as I was, to make absolute surrender to the Father your life!

Kelly Schulz