The Bruised Grape

The other day I was walking along the road eating some fabulously crunchy grapes. As I walked in the hot sun, I was meticulous about which grapes I ate first, avoiding those that were not as visibly appealing. As I neared the end of my walk and the end of the bag of grapes, I began throwing those grapes that seemed a little beat up into the near by wooded area. Coming to the last grape, I examined it and threw it a bit ahead of me in the street. My intention was to kick it the rest of the way home. I'd thrown it about 50 feet ahead of me, and increased my gait in anticipation of kicking the bruised and battered grape. Not 15 paces into my trot, my fun was interrupted by a baby bird who darted into the street, scooped the grape into its beak and transferred it to a nearby tree. There he began to greedily consume the grape, one bite at a time.


I stopped, taken aback at how quickly this turn of events morphed my frivolity into curiosity and indignation. This bird had taken risk. Clearly he had been watching me. This bird had stolen my bruised grape, and was now devouring it with delight! For some reason I have not been able to get that bird and my bruised grape out of my mind. Not necessarily because I mourn the loss of my grape, but because God taught me something powerful through it. It’s a lesson I hope will help some man or woman who has been thrown around and kicked about as if they are someone's play thing as well.

That little bird taught me that one person's toy can be another’s nourishment. Nothing had changed about that grape; it had simply found itself in the right context to be celebrated for all it had to offer. Hence, there is no need for you or I to be anything other than what God made us to be. That bruised grape couldn't be crunchy for me no matter how hard it tried. Time, circumstances, the thermos in my lunch bag had made that grape the bruised imperfect grape that it was, and despite its imperfections, to that bird it was nourishment - integral to its survival. Not only did the grape nourish him, but by the way he was tearing that thing up, you could tell it he was getting pleasure and satisfaction out of that grape. He savored it as if it was the best thing he had seen in a minute and he delighted in that grape as such. As men and women, we should spend less time trying to change ourselves to be what those who would treat us as play things want us to be, and align ourselves with those who consider us their nourishment - those that celebrate us, those that delight and savor us, bruises and all.

Ever Higher!
CB