Apr 10
12
Pluck the Fruit
An ancient story tells of a man who had a dream. In the dream, this man was walking toward a tree which had white, pure, sweet fruit. When he tasted the fruit, he wanted his family to taste it also. As I have been reading his experience again, I started to think about the sweetness of the fruit. Fruit, back then, was probably the sweetest thing that they had to taste. They couldn’t go to the store and pick up a Snickers, Mr. Goodbar, or bag of Skittles, much less visit the Cheesecake Factory for yummy cheesecake…!
So, I began to think about how I feel when I eat these wonderful “sweet” things…delighted, filled, happy…and how I would want to share those feelings with the people I love most.
In this man’s dream, though, some of the people he loved most got distracted and allowed themselves to wander from their goal–the sweet fruit.
What distracts you? Go ahead, take a moment to answer that question. I will wait. In fact, I have all day…and tomorrow, too…! I have several distractions on my list. Some for me are surface, like spending my time in media (movies, iPhone, FB, computer, games, etc.), while others are a little deeper (anger, frustration, lack of faith). Whatever the distraction, though, I know I am giving into something that is not the best use of my time and energy–something that will not yield fruit.
So, I’m going to give one up. Today. I am going to give up one of my distractions in order to focus on and pluck the fruit. Then next week, another. And another. Are you with me? There may be some fruit in it for both of us…or at least some fudge truffle cheesecake…! 
