Cherry Pit Conversations

We work together in the breezy shade of a large locust tree.  Silly thoughts and actions, reminders to stay focused, deviations to dump the unusable flourish.

The words change course as the work picks up the pace.  One asks if my life would be better if I hadn't had children.

"NO WAY!", I respond adamantly.  I list my three greatest gifts in order...Jesus, Brian, my children.  I could continue the list, but those are the top three.

Then Raleigh, as he leaves with a net to catch a damsel fly under the guise of dumping the pit bowl, asks how I could love others if I was supposed to love God with my whole heart.

Good question.

I share a story about when I was pregnant with him and I had a nagging fear I wouldn't love him as much as I loved Conner.

My fear was not realized.  As I held my second born in my arms, I had MORE love.

Love's not a commodity, like cherries, that we use up.  We don't have to dole it out in equal portions.  It's just as we love, we get more love.

I start singing the Magic Penny song.

"Love is like a magic penny,
Hold it tight and ya won't have any,
Lend it, spend it and you'll have so many,
They'll roll all over the floor!"

His question lingers in my mind, though.  Loving God with all my heart.  It requires trust that in doing so, I can love others, too.

It must be so, for the command doesn't stop with loving God wholeheartedly...the second greatest is to love my neighbor as myself.

The second command assumes the truth about love...lend it, spend it, and you'll have so much more.

The boys ask for the song again and then move on to other topics.

Like whether I'd go in a monster cave if I knew I'd be eaten.  And can damselflies fly if they've been submerged in water?

The cherry pitting continues for a little while longer, but something eternal happened too.