The apples are ripe … and ready to pick.
As I was gazing at these fresh-picked apples sitting on my kitchen counter, it suddenly occurred to me why the “apple” is always the image used to represent Teachers and “Back-to-school.”
It’s probably because the apples are always turning ripe just as the new school year is starting.
And probably in years gone by, when the students/their families wanted to do something nice for the teacher, they simply gave what they had … they gave the apples which were turning ripe on their trees.
As I gazed at these fresh-picked apples sitting on my kitchen counter, I decided I would like to make a Honey-Apple Cake. It seemed a delightful idea to have a Honey-Apple Cake baking in the oven when my vacationing houseguests arrived back home after a long day of adventuring.
The fabulous smell of Honey-Apple cake filling the house … money can’t buy that!
And the taste of a fresh warm Honey-Apple cake right out of the oven … money can’t buy that either!
As it turned out, our vacationing houseguests “just so happened” to arrive back home as the cake was finishing baking … and they couldn’t help but be undone by the fabulous smell filling the house!
It also “just so happened” that the cake came out of the oven right around the time our houseguests finished their dinner … and they were able enjoy a fresh warm slice of Honey-Apple Cake for their dessert.
It meant a lot to me to be able to give this “gift” to our vacationing houseguests. In fact, it was a huge blessing to me to be able to give this “gift” to our vacationing houseguests. I do not know if it was a blessing to them … but it was certainly a blessing to me.
I gave what I had.
I gave “what was in my hand.”
In Exodus, chapter 4, God appeared to Moses and called him to go back to Egypt and lead the people of Israel to freedom. Moses was afraid. Moses didn’t want to go.
Exodus 4:2 – “Then the LORD said to him, ‘What is that in your hand?’”
Obviously, it was a simple shepherd’s staff which was in Moses’s hand. God used what was in Moses’s hand to bring plagues of destruction upon the nation of Egypt. God used what was in Moses’s hand to rescue the people of Israel out of land of Egypt from slavery.
God used what was in Moses’s hand to part the Red Sea and lead the people across to safety on dry ground. God used what was in Moses’s hand to split the rock in the wilderness so that water flowed out!
What about the poor widow at Zarephath, in 1 Kings 17:7-16. What was in her hand?
Not much. Just a little oil and a handful of flour.
But God used what was in the widow’s hand to sustain the life of herself, her son, and the prophet Elijah … for more than a year!
What about you? What is in your hand?
If it’s “not much” that’s ok. God likes “not much.” God can do a lot! with “not much.”
