Throughout my lifetime, I’ve gotten into many “pickle” situations I couldn’t escape.
Each was different from the last, which made dealing with them quite a problem for me.
Last week, The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage, wife Martha, was ready to go grocery shopping. As she went out the door, she looked back at me and said, “Is there anything you want me to get for you.”
I responded by saying, “Yes, my dear. I sure would like an apple fritter.”
Stopping in her tracks, she looked back at me and said, “Just keep dreaming. That’ll never happen in a million years and you know it.”
As she closed the front door, I could hear her laughing, and I kinda knew why.
Don’t let her know this, but every year she, our daughter, and granddaughter go to St. Augustine for a week. They’ve been doing that for at least 20 years.
It’s during that week I find an apple fritter — or a handful. The last time I did it, I forgot to throw away the receipt, and it was on the counter.
When she got back, the first thing she found was the receipt for my apple fritters. I needed to learn a lesson from that.
A few hours later, I heard the front door open and remembered Martha had been out shopping. She’d returned and was coming into the kitchen with all her grocery bags.
Then I heard something I’d never dreamed of hearing in my life. As she was putting the groceries away in the kitchen, she yelled back to me, “Honey, I got your apple fritter.”
When I heard that, I laughed to “I’m not falling for this trick this time.”
Then she walked into my office, and in her hand was my favorite dessert. “Here's the apple fritter you asked for. I'll put it out in the kitchen for you to have later.” Then she went back to the kitchen.
Being in a pickle like this isn’t something I yearn for at any time. What I had to do now was figure out what to make of her sudden generosity where a fritter was concerned.
Why did she get me the fritter? There’s something behind this, and I’ve been working to figure it out.
Later on, I went out to the kitchen to get a cup of coffee, and there was the fritter. Martha said, “You can have your apple fritter now with your coffee.”
She then smiled at me, a very suspicious smile I couldn’t quite explain. As I reflected on this recent “pickle,” I was reminded of a Bible verse in James.
“If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him.”
— James 1: 5
It’s not easy for me to acknowledge my “lack of wisdom,” but when I do, I begin the path to finding the wisdom I need at that time.
Whether I can fix the pickle I’m in now is worth trying. It also might help me get ready for the next pickle I have to face.
Dr. Snyder is a former pastor who lives with the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage, wife Martha, in Ocala, Fla. His email is [email protected].
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