A FISTFUL OF MARVELOUS

Knowing I’m a sucker for this kind of nonsense, I’m pretty sure God thought of me, smiled his omniscient fatherly smile, and grew this remarkable sweet pepper just to amuse me.  He’s awesome like that.

I was garnishing raw vegetable plates at a taco soup fundraiser for my daughter’s trip to a Mexican orphanage on Sunday when I lifted this angry little red fist out of a bag of assorted bell peppers.  I was immediately and wholly smitten. 

Like my maternal Grammy, I’m a force-feeder from way back.  I bake, I cook, and I love to stuff people with treats. But I could never allow someone to eat a natural masterpiece the likes of this charismatic pepper.  Should I try to sell it on Ebay?  Though cinnamon toast with the Virgin Mary’s image has sold for big bucks (and it would be marvelous to push our fundraising profits over the top), I opted instead to just write about how a silly miniature vegetable made my sentimental heart smile. 

As noted by the great host of coworkers mercilessly subjected to my show-and-tell with the magical pepper this morning, it does not take a lot to amuse me.  I realize this about myself but remain unapologetic. 

This big earth holds a whole lot of hurt.  People are hungry.  Some are without a decent income, no measurable way to feel one's worth or support one's family.  The Christmas season I adore so much sends others into the depths of depression because they are experiencing these festivities alone. Loved ones are fighting terrible diseases, even dying. These painful trials are happening every minute of every day and while implausible to the person facing devastating loss, life just keeps rolling along.  

I say we are in need of marvelous distractions like incredibly expressive peppers.

One of my favorite greeting cards portrays a pitcher of lemonade on the face of the card. Predictably, it states, “If life gives you lemons, make lemonade.”  But the inside is the fabulous part.  It says something like “But if life gives you crap, don’t make anything… Trust me on this one.”  It isn't easy to laugh in the face of disappointment and fear.  But I contend, if you don’t find joy in the ordinary, if you aren't actively searching for the beauty in the rain-clouds, this path we are walking will feel so fraught with picker bushes, you will lose your will to keep walking to the splendor on the other side.

Call me sappy but I am in love with this little red fist.  Its tiny grasping fingers remind me to look for the good around me and its unanticipated and delightful appearance speaks volumes to my soul about how much we are loved by the one who created us all.