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“Never My Own”
I made a trip to the grocery store, hoping to find some fresh Georgia peaches. It’s not like we don’t grow good peaches in Florida, but in Georgia, it’s a specialty. If I want an orange, I’m getting Florida. If I want a peach, I’m getting Georgia.
That’s a lot of explanation for one simple fruit, but I’m trying to give the reader (you) some idea of how much I was looking forward to a couple of peaches. I don’t want a whole sack of them, and I’m not trying to preserve them in large quantities. I just had a craving.
So, on a certain recent day, I visited the grocery store. The only fresh peaches in the produce section were not from Georgia. In fact, the peaches weren’t even ripe. Oh, they looked pretty enough, but when I picked one up with my hands, I immediately recognized that these weren’t going to work for my needs. I began to wonder how many poor souls would be fooled by their appearance, only to get them home and realize they had made a poor buying decision.
It's sad, isn’t it? Why become upset? After all, God has provided me with the blessing of choosing my own food. I was disappointed because I couldn’t have what I wanted, so I blamed it on the store that didn’t carry it at the time. Was it their fault? Of course! Each time I’m upset with something, it must be someone’s fault; Never My Own!
In fact, I was so upset that I didn’t consider any of the options available, such as going somewhere else to find what I wanted, making a special request at the customer service desk, or choosing something else. No, all of that would take too much trouble. I decided to sulk, instead.
Does this happen to you? Oh, I’m not referring to peaches in your case, but do you also tend to point a finger somewhere else instead of giving thanks for what you have? This article is meant to be a metaphor. Some readers have figured that out, but others are still stumped. That’s why I can’t avoid the specific term, “metaphor”, when I address the subject of selfishness. I don’t want people to think I’m pointing the finger at them when, really, I’m just pointing away from myself. It must be someone else’s fault. Never My Own.
There are plenty of things in life that are truly more frustrating and much more serious than peaches. Certainly, Hurricanes Helene and Milton taught me much about what matters most. But even if I think about my BS Life (Before Storm Life), I probably have always had a tendency to miss God’s goodness all around me: I’m still breathing, I have a wonderful home, I live on an island, and I have a family at the Chapel that is truly awesome. None of it is because I deserve it. It’s Never My Own. All of it is because of God.
Maybe those peaches I passed up were wonderful. Maybe they were perfect. I don’t know because I didn’t try them. I forgot that God provided those, too.
Come to the Chapel or watch online this Sunday! I promise you won’t regret it.
God Bless,
Brock
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