What the Pumpkins Teach Us

Ephesians 4:15-16 (The Message)

No prolonged infancies among us, please.

We'll not tolerate babes in the woods, small children who are an easy mark for impostors.

God wants us to grow up, to know the whole truth and tell it in love—like Christ in everything.

We take our lead from Christ, who is the source of everything we do.

He keeps us in step with each other.

His very breath and blood flow through us, nourishing us so that we will grow up healthy in God, robust in love.

"God wants us to grow up..."

What a great line of scripture. And it's a lesson that we all have to learn in God's time.

"Pumpkin day" is such a reminder of this for me. A mountain of large pumpkins fills the trailer. As the sun is starting to rise, the volunteers assemble.

My kids are absolutely overflowing with excitement. "Pumpkin day," for whatever reason, is right there with Christmas morning and birthdays for them. It builds anticipation like almost nothing else.

And without fail, they have one question..."can we get in the trailer?"

This year, my oldest, Will got to get "in the trailer" and help the line of men who passed the pumpkins from one to another.

He must have passed a good dozen pumpkins (of about 1500). Then he had enough. He quickly jumped down, back into the patch to play with his friends. He wasn't quite ready to grow up just yet (it's work after all), and I'm not really ready for him to grow up, anyway.

What about the rest of us?

The pumpkins teach us that it's a wonderful thing to be surrounded by a family who's willing to do grown up work.

Without each and every person, the pumpkin task would be near impossible.

We learn to "keep in step with each other" as the pumpkins pass from hand to hand. We learn that when part of the team breaks down, everybody has to stop. We see firsthand the incredible value of team work and a shared goal.

For a couple of hours, we truly have to be one body. And this is the picture of church.

There is a trailer full of potential ministry opportunity that greets our church family, each and every morning.

We give, serve, and push one another...because it is our calling. We work together, because in grace, that work is our very identity.

"His very breath and blood flow through us, nourishing us so that we will grow up healthy in God, robust in love."

This is what the pumpkins teach us. May we learn new lessons like this one every single day.

Grace & Peace,

Adam