The Very Best Pumpkin

The Very Best Pumpkin
By, Mark Kimball Moulton

A story recently shared these early October days is, “The Very Best Pumpkin”. At first I found it to be a great story about how pumpkins start, grow, and become harvested… until I read it a few times and of course found God in its’ pages!

The story begins with a boy named Peter.
(Of course Peters and Pumpkins go hand in hand!)

Peter works and lives with his grandparents who own a Pumpkin Farm. The farm does produce other “crops” (A vocabulary word for this month), throughout the Spring and Summer as well, but obviously pumpkins are its thing!

The little farm does very well for itself… and Peter discovers during the early summer months that a vine from the main patch has grown out past the boundaries of the pumpkin field into a meadow. As any good steward or shepherd he follows that one stray vine … stepping over pumpkins “cautiously”. (Another vocab word). He finds himself looking down at this little vine and its sweet curlicues. They have nestled into a solemn place on a hill in the meadow. Tucked away from the rest with best intentions of survival.

He leans down and notices that there is growth there! A few stray curlicues, and some weeds pushed aside give away to a small underdeveloped pumpkin. Small but surviving. It has been choked off from growth by the surrounding weeds and accumulating leaves around the small orange sphere.

Peter is thrilled when he spots this little neglected pumpkin trying so hard on its own to survive. He feels it a farmer’s stewardship to help it, and raise it to the level of love and acceptance it will need to become worthy of a family in the Fall!

In many ways Peter represents God in our story. He recognizes that “one got away”. Much like the sheep leaving the pen parable. Surely God would never allow one sheep out of 100 to be let go for the sake of the other 99! And so Peter feels the same way!

I love pumpkin stories because they tell us so much about God’s love for us. They teach about all of us growing from one vine, yet we are all different. They teach us how we are Christians because of this process, and then the process’ to come.

Peter recognizes that this very special pumpkin adrift from the rest is till part of the great fold that he helped to grow and nurture. Some how, some way… it made its way out of the patch and into a meadow. Sometimes, human beings just don’t grow the way the regular, normal ones do. They oft take different paths and need to find their own ways to survive. What I love about this very best pumpkin is that it is still attached to the ONE VINE.

Peter secretly spends the summer cleaning the pumpkin’s new spot. Cautiously tending to its needs. He weeds away the bad ... giving it room for growth and sunlight and water. He even builds a special sign to warn others… “Hey… Caution… This ONE needs more than the rest!” Clearly Peter sees this as a “special and unique” pumpkin. He gives it his TLC, and… Voila... Guess what happens??? The pumpkin thrives!

Peter, however is not alone. A new neighbor has moved in next to the farm…Meg.
Meg is a lonely girl. She is new, hasn’t any friends.. and I feel is somewhat introverted. She resorts to her books under trees to pass the time. It is ALWAYS difficult being the new kid on the block! One day… she spies Peter going to the meadow, and with curiosity she cautiously follows him. Thus beginning weeks of weeks of studying from afar his nurturing ways and sensitivity to this one remote pumpkin. (Kinda of like her!)

As Summer turned to Autumn and people were choosing their pumpkins at the farm, Peter was selling the perfect pumpkins to their rightful owners…. except for the Very Best Pumpkin. Until, Meg came a pumpkin picking. This whole month… no one had shown the dedication to the pumpkin in the meadow like someone as wonderful as Meg. Peter secretly had been watching her day by day. HE knew her timid, and yet he knew she cared. He knew her to be the right one!

Meg glazed and gawked over each and every pumpkin available for sale, but alas… none were meeting her expectation. She had seen them all… fat, skinny, tall, wide… very orange, and not so much… she knew none of the pumpkins measured up to her expectations of the very best pumpkin. She gave up and began to walk away.

It was then Peter…”I have another pumpkin, you may really want…” and with that that tripped and crashed over many ... and cautiously approached the meadow. Peter offered the very best pumpkin to Meg, because she was there each and every day with him. The fact Meg was so invested in watching his care daily, actually caused him to treat the pumpkin so special! And because someone found that quality in him, in turn, he found that quality in someone else!

She found the pumpkin perfect, and the two shared seasons afterwards learning and growing as big as the very best pumpkin they each designed for one another out in the meadow.

I nearly cry each time I read this story… I wonder about how often we’ve allowed something to die under our care when in fact; it was an opportunity to grow us more into relationship with God. Peter saw that this one was different, it actually deserved MORE!
Please remember that some of us need more than others, and the reality is we all need more at various times in our lives. Peter and Meg’s friendship is one in which the ASAP tries very hard to foster each and every day with all of its students. Please look more closely this Fall as to the lessons that the Pumpkin can offer each of us.
Bringing us into a better meadow, or growing spot with one another, and with God.

Happy Autumn,
Miss Dawn