An Apple a Day
I like apples—for the most part. For the most part, I like them dipped in caramel and nuts.
Other apples may be found around the house that are not edible—like the one on my phone and iPad. Every so often, these items become outdated and need to be switched out. In order to do that, a place of business which carries them is searched for. As change is hard and trust even harder, one day I was feeling brave and decided to go for it. In the town I was visiting, there were several places advertising the product I was looking for—and thus—I began my search.
Store #1 didn’t feel quite right so I was in and out within minutes.
Store #2 sold the same device but as I walked in, the sales person looked annoyed. I left.
Store #3 was a winner. The service team actually smiled while making conversation. Within the hour, I had my phone, the information was transferred, and an acceptable price point agreed upon. Did I mention it had three cameras lenses on it? I was happy.
I was happy, that is, until I made my way home shortly after the purchase. You see, the purchase had taken place in state far from home and while driving home I noticed that the 65 miles to the next destination on my GPS was still reading 65 miles long after the arrival time had been driven. By the time I realized it was not working properly, the nine hour journey home turned into 12—need I say more. (Evidently, the problem was not strictly the phone’s and of that I am well aware.)
Once home, I began trying to figure out the problem with my new phone and in order to do anything with this “personally” owned device, it asked me one simple question. It asked for my password. As I had record of it, I punched it in—again and again and again. In fact, I was so certain I was correct that by the time I punched it in for the tenth time, the big apple blocked me from my very own “personal” account!
I will spare you the details but if you think the nine hour journey which turned into twelve was bad, it paled in comparison of trying to retrieve my account. For over a week I worked with representatives far and wide who tried to help me figure out the problem. Every single person came up with the exact same answer no matter how far up the rung they were in the company.
Suffice it to say, not one representative had the authorization to override the computer system.
Not one. I had to follow directions just like everyone else in the world and wait it out until my account could be restored after X number of days. In fact, if any shortcut was taken, grandma here was bounced back to square one—lying in wait for the X amount of days to begin all over again.
As I mentioned earlier, change is hard and trust even harder at times. Here’s a favorite verse of mine and perhaps it’s one of yours, too. Prov. 3:56 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on our own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”
Eventually I made my way home by following the signs along the path rather than my GPS device. My account was recovered not in my timing— but His. Now that all appears to be on track, I continually check and recheck by asking the following. Am I on track? Am I leaning into His understanding or am I relying on my own understanding? Am I acknowledging Him in all my ways?
There’s yet another form of apple we all are privy to and that is in knowing we are truly the apple of His eye. It says so in Psalm 17:8. “Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings.”
I recall when my 8 th grade teacher tried to teach Algebra to a whole pile of us who weren’t quite getting it. Her words: “You can’t add apples with apples and get oranges! You can’t add apples with apples and get bananas!” It was her tone of frustration with the lot of us that I remember—more than how to figure out the problem we were trying to solve.
Perhaps, after all these years, I finally understand what my 8 th grade teacher was trying to get across. She must have meant that one must look at the reality of what is in front of us. When I let Him direct— the outcome will be His. Trying to make sense of this world on the highways and byways of life by continuing on the same round-about over and over and over—will not produce answers we are looking for. If we allow Him to direct our paths, He will because we are already the apple of His eye. Amen.
