Fruit

I love our small country town and I love the small corner store we have, but one of the hazards of living in rural Manitoba in the dead of winter is that the produce department takes a serious hit. During the winter months, we have to content ourselves with either over- or under-ripe bananas, apples that have seen better days and exorbitantly priced grapes who are preparing for their lives as raisins. The mandarin oranges that cheered the Christmas holidays are long gone. That's how it is every year.

But every once in awhile, we drive an extra 45 minutes down the road to Brandon, a city that boasts a Superstore, which is where my son and I found ourselves last week on the coldest day of the season. And there was row upon row of glorious, vibrantly colored fresh produce. Not only were there yellow bananas, crisp apples in abundant varieties, and firm, juicy grapes but there were mandarin oranges for sale, apricots and grapefruit, pomegranates and nectarines! There were exotic fruits and vegetables from all over the world – things we never see in our country town: dragon fruit, eggplants, starfruit and things I couldn't identify!

I have been learning in the past several weeks about waiting. Waiting for God.

I sometimes feel like my life is like shopping in the produce department of a small country corner store in the middle of winter. But I am learning to wait a little longer, go a little farther down the road, where I anticipate encountering the abundance of God, where I might be met with wonderful things I can't even imagine.

I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits,

and in his word I put my hope.

I wait for the Lord

more than the watchmen wait for the morning,

more than the watchmen wait for the morning.

Israel, put your hope in the Lord,

for with the Lord is unfailing love

and with him is full redemption.

Psalm 130:5 - 7