Photo: snowy apples

It’s so easy, on a grey snowy day that comes too soon, to trudge from point A to point B, hood pulled partway over my face to keep the snowflakes from landing on my glasses. I hate rain or snow on my glasses. I can’t see clearly. It’s so easy to keep my eyes on the ground, resigned to disappointment.

But then I hear a voice that reminds me to look up.

When I showed these photos to a friend she was angry.

“Why didn’t they pick them?” she demanded, “Why didn’t they at least let a poor person pick them?”

Perhaps, like me, the people who owned this tree were too busy trudging through life to look up and remember the benefits that were theirs.

I think blessings are like that. We need to let go of a compromised theology based on disappointment. We need to look up to see these benefits. We need to stretch as we reach to grab hold of them. Sometimes they are just beyond our ability to grasp on our own; we might need the help and support of others who can hold a ladder of faith for us, people with clearer vision, before we can taste and see that the Lord is good.

I wonder how much unclaimed provision is up there?

Bless the Lord, oh my soul. Bless the Lord and forget not all His benefits. (Psalm 103:1)