The Orange

The bright oranges lie calmly in the fruit bowl. For a long while, they are content merely to sit, leaning against the comforting roundness of each other. Suddenly, a thieving hand reaches in and pulls from the bowl one lone orange. 

Panic stirs in the heart of him. Why must he be taken away? Why must he leave all he knows? 

He becomes aware of a ripping sensation. The colorful shield that has so long protected him from the outside world is being torn away. Little by little, his skin is peeled off... leaving behind a fleshy middle and a few strings of matted whiteness. 

He is stripped, defenseless. He no longer has a purpose for existing.

When he is quite sure that his life couldn't get any worse, his world changes again. In one swift moment, he realizes something: He has not been created to sit in a bowl for the rest of his life. He has not even been created to protect himself.
No. 
He has been created to be enjoyed by others. He has been created to nourish others. He has been created to reveal his middle. He has been created to share the heart of who he is.

Before & After

There's a line in "Enchanted April" about "befores & afters" that draws such a sadness from me. The phrase is about moving away from the past and stepping into the beauty of the present.

What I am realizing now is that, just because my "afters" have begun, doesn't necessarily mean that I am living in them.

God, help me to walk towards life, not away from it, knowing that is where I will find You.