Thanks For The Peaches

Bless the Lord, my soul; do not forget all the gifts of God.  Psalm
103:2
                             
We have the craziest tree in our backyard.  Dave planted the crazy dwarf peach tree more than 25 years ago.  As you would imagine with the word
dwarf in the description it’s a small tree and it happens to be peppered with random dead branches.  It really is a sad looking little thing but in the spring it’s so pretty we don’t have the heart to cut it down.   The tree typically bears five or six peaches every few years so we don’t really pay much attention to it because quite frankly…it’s all about the spring blossoms. A few days ago Dave was mowing lawn and saw a few peaches on the ground under the tree and when he looked up he noticed the tree was loaded with peaches.  We picked two full buckets of peaches from this tiny little tree.  The whole time we were picking we just kept shaking our heads in surprise!  How is it we completely missed it…we looked out the window at that tree and walked past it every day?

When we picked the peaches and brought them in the house, the fruit was about half the size of the big Georgia peaches I brought home from the
grocery store but they have five times the juice and flavor…surprise again!  I know it’s just a couple buckets of little peaches but it makes me realize how much I take for granted.  It makes me wonder how many times cool blessings come as a complete surprise when we aren’t busy searching and planning. Again and again God waits to surprise us and shower us with little bits of His love. I suppose it happens most often when we just let God be God without trying to tell him every little thing we need and want.

Every time I look at those peaches, I think of something simple I take for granted.  My life is full of great things but like that peach tree, how often do blessings in my life go completely unnoticed?  I have a fabulous husband but I need to make sure I don’t just get used to him being there like that tree.  I need to appreciate him and thank him and tell God how grateful I am for our marriage.  I have all I need, a beautiful home, a job I love, kids I adore and excellent health but I don’t always act like I remember it.  When someone dear to me gets sick I remember to thank God for my health
but all too often it’s like walking past that loaded peach tree without even
noticing.  As I get busy canning those peaches, I will be standing at the kitchen sink reciting a long list of “thank yous” for all the little(and big) gifts and blessings I walk past without notice every day.  

A Seed To Plant:  Sit down with a paper and pencil and make a list of ten gifts and blessings you want to make sure you don’t take for granted…then say a thank you prayer!

 Blessings on your day!