The Glory of Green

Last week, I went out walking with the Lord. I've been feeling a little lost lately, like a sailboat without a sail that's drifting in a vast ocean. I desperately needed to feel God's presence. As I walked and prayed, I made a bold request.

"God, show me your glory! I desperately need to feel your presence today."

There was no flash of lightning or rumble of thunder. But God did show me something.

An Osage orange, or a hedge apple, depending on what part of the country you live in.

I picked up this wrinkly lime green fruit and carried it home.

Really, God? I ask for glory and I get wrinkled fruit?

My sons marveled over this strange fruit. My husband said he'd never seen or heard of one until I brought it home. We read about it on the internet and looked it up in our tree book. And wonder of wonders, that very Sunday on the front page of our newspaper's Living section, they featured a photo and article about Osage oranges. Coincidence or God wink? You decide.



The photo showed this weird fruit displayed as a lovely fall centerpiece. I thought to myself "I can do that, too!"

So yesterday, I went walking with the Lord again, but this time with a plastic grocery bag in hand. I loaded the bag with the Osage oranges and began the walk home.

And that's when God spoke to me. He whispered it to me, so I had to listen and pay attention. And here's what He whispered:

"You asked to see my glory, and I showed you a strange green fruit instead. You see, that Osage orange is my glory. It is my creation, in all of its wrinkled, weird and wonderful uniqueness. It is the very essence of the creation that I sent my son to redeem. And you, in your uniqueness, are part of this creation, too."

I had thought that the Osage orange was the booby prize. It turns out it was the treasure all along.

And let's face it, I'm no Moses. If I'd seen even a glimpse of God's glory that day in my fragile state, I'm sure that I could not handle it. A wrinkly lime green fruit is about all that my pea brain can wrap around these days.



The lime green of the Osage orange was the inspiration for this Christmas card. I love the non-traditional lime green when paired with red for the holidays! The green here is from Amuse Studio gingham papers. This stamp is from Inkadinkado (2.49! How cheap is that?) I loved the little berry garland frame, and decided to make it stand out with some red Stickles.



The sun is shining and "all of the earth is filled with His glory!" Enjoy the day!