The Unwanted Pumpkins

 Hello again, friends. It's been a while since I've last written. The funny thing about time is that you don't fully realize how fast it goes by. But we are still here in 2020. We've gotten back into the swing of our new normalcy, school and dance class has started back up - each with their own new sets of protocols. It is now my most favorite time of year...hello fall! I love all things fall - changing leaves, hoodies, apple cider, all things pumpkin, etc. But one of our favorite things to do as a family every fall is to visit the pumpkin patch! It is like the "Disney World" to our young kids. Their eyes light up and are filled with wonder at the widespread pumpkin fields. 

On a recent visit there, we took the hayride out to the fields where we pick our own pumpkins. My husband always eagerly searches for the most perfect pumpkin, the biggest one without blemishes. He hoists it on his shoulders and proudly carries it back to the waiting hayride. This year was no different for him. But my children both frantically looked for their own version of the perfect pumpkin. Except their version looked something like this: small, a little deformed, discolored, and the kind that nobody else wants. They picked them up and cradled them, calling them their babies. Even once we got home, they took extra special care of them. I got out a pail of water and some towels and we were cleaning each of the pumpkins. We had a great conversation about sin and how Jesus washes our sins clean...just like we are washing the pumpkins clean. 

My point is that at one time or another, we have all felt like the misfits. The rejects, the kind other people look at and say "no way". The ones that weren't invited to that party, the last kid picked at gym class, the ones that opinions are different. I have felt this so strongly at times and perhaps you have too. When life is telling you that you are insignificant, full of problems, and not good enough. That nobody else in this world, or pumpkin patch, would want you. Ephesians 1:4 says "Even before God made the world, He loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without blemish". Deuteronomy 14:2 says "Out of all the face of the world, the Lord has chosen you to be His treasured possession".

Friends I'm trying to say that Jesus loves you. In the way that my kids went out of their way to find the reject pumpkins, Jesus searches for you and chooses you. He chooses to love you just the way you are. He lifts you up on His shoulders and proudly exclaims to the world that You are His! He cares for you, just as my children care for their "babies". Romans 8:39 says that nothing can ever separate us from God's love. No matter how many blemishes you have. What an awesome gift it is to be fully loved and fully accepted. What we think is insignificance, Jesus calls loved and important. What we think is rejection, Jesus calls set apart and made holy. Be comforted in this, He loves and chooses you daily. Just as my kids' pumpkins are now on display, He is so proud to call you His own.