Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapor, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. ~James 4:14 KJV
I had the sad occasion of attending a funeral recently. One of my best friends from high school lost his beautiful wife to cancer. When I received the news, it was like a sucker punch to my gut. It came across my phone and I just had to sit in silence, looking blankly at my phone screen, and praying for my friend and his children, who are all under the age of nine.
I hate this. I hate that my friend has to walk this path. I don’t want anyone to have to endure this pain, much less my friends.
God is so loving in His ways. As I sat amongst my high school friends at the funeral that I didn’t want to attend, God used this opportunity to heal me a little more. A story was shared by one of the speakers that washed over me like aloe on a sunburn; soothing me in a way I didn’t even realize I needed.
Walking in an apple orchard after a storm, many of the apple blossoms blown off their branches and onto the ground, covering it in a beautiful blanket of color and fragrance. Apple blossoms, if left on the branches bloom and then an apple grows. The purpose of the apple blossom is to grow the apple. What about the blossoms that are blown from the branches, did they serve their purpose?
The speaker shared that instead of thinking that the Creator, God, intended every apple blossom to yield fruit; think about the blossoms that don’t yield fruit. They die too soon, too early, so there’s no apple. As you are walking through the orchard and stepping on the blossoms underfoot, a wonderful fragrance rises in the air. Looking throughout the orchard at the fallen blossoms, it is beautiful ground covering that lightens and stimulates the vision, bringing joy.
Each of those blossoms has a purpose and a lifespan that only God knows. While we may say in sadness that the fallen blossom didn’t yield an apple; God says, I intended that one to be on the ground when you walked through the orchard today. I wanted you to smell the wonderful fragrance of apple blossoms. I wanted you to see their beauty all around you. I used them for My purpose. I never intended for those blossoms to yield apples. Some of the blossoms bring joy in their short time here by leaving the branches early; while others stay on the branches for a long time and bring joy in yielding apples. God numbers our days and when we have fulfilled His purpose, He calls His children Home.
As I sat there listening to this story, I wept. My husband died at the age of 42. My friend’s wife was 45. So young. Too soon…for us; not God. You see, my husband and my friend’s wife and all of our loved ones who left this earth before we were ready for them to leave; they served His purpose. God said, “Well done, good and faithful servant, come home.” For some, they brought joy in just their fragrance. For others, they yielded an apple and it was delicious.
This brought me such peace. It reminded me that God is in control. Nothing happens without passing through His Hands first, and it is always good. I can praise God for the fragrance, even though an apple never grew.
Dear Lord, I just am so overwhelmed by how You work in my life. I am so humbled by Your love and care for me. I pray that if I am here for a short time, my fragrance is sweet; and if I am here for a long time, my apple is delicious to others and You. I love You, Lord! Amen
Originally posted on awidowsmight.org in February 2015