As I climbed out of my truck and gathered a few items I would need for the next few hours my mind raced back to my childhood. I could remember a number of summer days very similar to this one when I stood in the same place with my parents. Back then it seemed like the journey down the dirt road was a million miles long. Now, 35 years later it’s just a nice scenic drive that lasts about 20 minutes.
My parents would make sure they had towels, drinks and food for any of us kids who accompanied them. As my feet started guiding me down the trail beside the brook I felt content to bring up the rear. I was with three of my friends and a couple of kids including the daughter of one of my friends.
When I watched the kids in front of me I realized a lot of life has passed since I innocently walked along that same trail as a child. I was always anxious to get to the lake so I could jump off the rocks into the water below. At that point I had never heard of the word “stress” and didn’t know anything about it. I didn’t even know anyone who had ever been divorced and all of my friends had both parents. I was clueless to the bad things that can happen in life. The only thing that concerned me was jumping into the water as many times as I could before it was time to leave. My parents were always so patient and understanding.
I”m not sure what they thought, but as I sat there watching the kids jump off the same rocks I jumped from three decades ago, I think I got a quiet understanding of what they might have experienced.
Although they weren’t my kids it was very relaxing for me to sit there while they enjoyed every minute of the trip. They yelled, giggled, laughed, shouted and ran all over the place. It was just one of those feel good moments that lasted almost two hours.
Since I never had children and always wanted them I like to be around kids when I have the opportunity to do so. It also makes me appreciate the jobs some of my friends do while raising their children, especially the ones who have to do it as single parents. I know it’s not easy.
Sometimes I wonder if I would have been a good parent. I do know that I never could have lived up to the standard my parents set. If God was told to give me the best parents in the world I’m certain he would have given me the ones I have.
Along the way I’ve made some choices they might not have agreed with but they have always supported me. They never left my side when the walls came crashing down and both of them always pushed me forward in pursuit of happiness.
There were times a few years back when I wanted to let myself harden and become stagnant, but they made sure to point out the goodness in people. With apple picking season coming it reminds me of good and bad things that can happen to people.
Almost all trees have bruised apples lying on the ground below them once the picking season is in full bloom. Those apples are very similar to people in my generation. Most of us have been tossed aside at least one time and our insides are bruised. Some of us slowly heal from the bruises while others continue to poor salt in the wound and leave it wide open to experience more pain and hurt.
Hanging onto the hurt after you’ve fallen to the ground doesn’t do anyone any good. It stunts you from becoming happy once again and it allows your past to control your future.
When you go to the orchard in the coming weeks to do your annual apple picking remember to give a close look even to the apples on the ground. Each and ever apple can serve a purpose. Even those bruised ones on the ground can be taken home and made into a very tasty apple pie. We should look at people in the same way. Sometimes our friends need us to encourage them to get to a better place rather than let them sit under the tree and decay. Some of them might insist that they don’t want to be moved but we all know that everyone ultimately wants to be loved.
All it takes is a a gentle hand to reach into the grass, close its fingers around you and give you support as it puts you in a hoody pocket where you’ll sit back and enjoy your adventure in a new and better place where you’re appreciated. Don’t let the frost wilt your soul and realize that many others have been just as bruised as you. It’s all up to you to determine what you want to do once you’ve hit the ground. Hopefully you’ll realize the many great things in this world if you allow yourself to remain soft and open to the ones who matter most.