I’ve been plotting this for years now. Two years to be exact. It’s taken some pretty careful planning on my part. And this week, I did it… I finally did it! What was my mission you ask? Well, it was simple: to get a pear. Yes, you heard me correctly…to get a pear.

Let me explain. We are not just talking about any old pear…it had to be a pear from the pear orchards I run past. It had to be one of these special pears.

You might be thinking, “What’s the big deal with getting a pear from the local pear orchard? Just pick one off the tree, or better yet, buy some at the grocery store…hello-o?” Well, let me explain. You see, I live in a town that was made famous for it’s pear orchards (including this one) back in the day. I’ve lived here my whole life and guess what? I’ve never had one of these beauties because they don’t sell them in the grocery store. PLUS, every September a team of wonderful and happy volunteers comes in droves to pick them ALL and package them up to ship to a local food bank. That’s so awesome, right? These special pears are going to folks who actually need them…and well, I don’t. I’m in the “want one” category. So how can I feel good about taking one from someone who’s hungry? To me, it feels like stealing if I pick one of these pears. See my dilemma? I know…I know… it’s just a pear.

But even MORE crazy is my reason. I don’t just want to eat the pear…I mean, I’d love to know what it tastes like. But more than that… I want to save the seeds so I can plant my own special pear trees! I planted some apple trees from an apple I ate during that awful Covid season back in 2020, and it was such a wonderful feeling to grow something from seed! I’m not much of a gardener, but I think I could be! (I can feel your amazement at my grand ambitions in life even now). So, I’ve had some time to think about this and here’s where my plan finally takes shape.

For the past couple of years I’ve watched all summer long as the pears grow and ripen before they get harvested. The volunteers pick every single pear and there is not one left! Two years ago, my plan was to get one that they maybe left behind…to pick one of those…but alas, there was not a one! Not.a.one. Ugh!

Last year, I thought, well, I will just grab one that’s fallen on the ground so that way, it’s not stealing. I mean, it’s decaying anyway and no one’s going to eat that, so at least I can save the seeds. Genius, right? Well, I was too late, for the harvesters came before I had a chance to do that AND they even cleaned up the ones on the ground!! Why would they do that? I was astonished and sad all at once. So, I decided this year, I had to be ready for that moment. And ready I was!

Last week, I went on my morning run like usual and thought with a confident smile, “This is the day. This is ‘Pear Day’. Today I am getting a pear from the ground and running home with it. It will be half decayed anyway, so I won’t be taking one away from anyone.” As I approached the pear trees, I was alarmed by how many beautiful pears were on the ground starting their decaying process. I thought to myself, “Oh boy! It’s TIME!” Carefully scanning all the pears that had fallen on the ground, I suddenly saw it. There it was…a small green pear on the ground without a single blemish or mark of decay. I was in shock! It must have just fallen two minutes ago and now it was lying right here ready for me to pick up. I reached out my hand, slowly picked it up, and carefully wrapped my fingers around it…it felt good. It was MY pear.

Never mind the fact that several yards away from me was an old lady who had driven her car up, parked at a crooked angle, brought her own apple picker thingy and was loading up pears from one of the trees and bagging them up to take with her. Here I was with my one ground pear. I didn’t care…it was a dream come true.

As I continued on with my run toward home, I was amazed at how many people I knew in town that seemed to be out and about as if to come and watch the “Crazy Pear Lady” running home with her ground pear. I even stopped to talk to a few who glanced at my pear, maybe wondered to themselves, but said nothing. I pretended like it was totally normal. My pear plan was in effect and nothing was going to stop me now. 🙂 I lead an exciting life, don’t I?

I made it home and sat on my front porch step just looking at my treasure. “What is it with me and this silly pear?” I wondered. As I sat there staring at it, I was taken back to something God had spoken to my heart a few weeks earlier about His word being like a living seed in our hearts. It grows when we water it, nurture it, protect it and take care of it. His word is a LIVING thing…just like this pear growing on the pear tree. Hebrews 4:12 says “For the word of God is alive and active…” God even says in Isaiah 55 that “just as rain and snow descend from the skies and don’t go back until they’ve watered the earth, making things grow and blossom, producing seed for farmers and food for the hungry, so will the words that come out of My mouth (God’s mouth) not come back empty handed. They’ll do the work I (God) sent them to do.” In other words, God’s word accomplishes what He wants it to do.

So, if God’s word says that He has good plans for my life (like it says in Jeremiah 29:11) then, yes, God’s word is alive and true and He has good plans for my life. I’m going to nurture that word, and watch it grow. Just like my pear seeds.

I never know when God is going to speak something special to me…but on this day, it was through a little green pear. How sweet!