Some people write about cookies...

...I write about watermelons. :-)

This is actually something I wrote a couple of years ago, but I got some REALLY nice compliments on it recently, so I thought I would post it here. (Forewarning: it's really long...and that's after major editing!)


About watermelons...I've been meditating on this rather large fruit (is a melon really a fruit, or is it just a melon? And does it really matter?) and the verse (I think it's in Isaiah) that keeps coming to mind is "man looks on the outward appearance, but God looks on the heart." That verse seems to be cropping up a lot lately...probably for VERY good reason.

A dear friend recently made a comment about wanting to "core" a relationship beforehand to see what's really there, just as we would core a watermelon to check it out its flavor before plunking down our hard-earned cash to purchase something that may or may not taste as good as it looks. To a great extent, we DO "shop" for relationships like we might shop for a watermelon--we want someone who meets our criteria, whatever that might be--looks, personality, good sense of humor, sensitivity, great body, sexual prowess, talents that we lack ourselves, etc.

Most of that is "outward appearance"...and extraneous--it might not all be technically "physical" attributes, but as far as truly "real" spiritual qualities, very few people seem to want anything but surface characteristics.

So, we mull over all these "skin-deep" qualities that we want...and find out after we get our "watermelon" home (after it's too late!) that, when we slice it open, it may be under-ripe, overripe, not sweet at all, too seedy--and doesn't meet up to our expectations of what we thought we were getting when we looked at that beautiful green-striped skin. We KNOW what a good watermelon should taste like...but we, in our untrained naïveté, believe that anything that looks like a "good" watermelon should automatically taste like a good watermelon—some foolish thinking on our part.

So...what do we do? Suck it up and make the best of it? Sometimes we can do that...it may not be "great", but we can still have some satisfaction and sustenance, even if it doesn't totally live up to our expectations. Dump it in the trash and go buy another melon? All too often, as is obvious from the world of broken relationships around us. Gripe and complain about the poor-quality merchandise, whether we keep it or ditch it? Oh, yeah...on an ongoing basis usually.

Now here we are, all about picking a watermelon that looks good...or picking a relationship that we think fits our "criteria"—but we’re looking at the "outward appearance", when the Scripture plainly says that the LORD looks on the heart. How can we possibly choose for ourselves the perfect "watermelon" without allowing the Lord to "core" the relationship beforehand?

A little "editorial license" here--picture God as the farmer/roadside stand operator with a truckful of watermelons. He has grown His melons from seed, cultivated and cared for them as they grew to maturity and ripeness and is now making them available for consumption on the open market...kind of like the Lord does with our hearts (knowing us before we were born, knitting us together in our mother's wombs, teaching us as we grow). We, as inexperienced consumers, really know nothing except that we want a good watermelon...so why would we not ask the experienced farmer for a little guidance in choosing?

As the Lord looks on the heart, so the farmer knows the "heart" of the watermelons...it's HIS produce, and therefore his privilege to "core" the melon to make sure it's the one that is perfect for us. Since I've not actually purchased the melon, it's not MY property and I don't hold the right to take a chunk out of it to see if I like it...I should hand it to him willingly and allow HIM to do the slicing, shouldn't I? I should definitely be willing to trust the Farmer...the Grower Himself, to determine, based on His ability to look on the heart (of a person, of a relationship, of anything), to determine if it's right for me. And He holds an advantage over most roadside stand operators—not only has He created the fruit, but also the consumer—He knows me (and my tastebuds) intimately.

How many of us are truly willing to hold our relationships up to the Lord PRIOR to making the decision that it's what we want? What if He says "no"? Will He then have to pry our fingers off of it and put it back on the shelf? Or will we, like the mostly-disobedient children we are, just stomp off with it anyway? But, what if He smiles kindly, reaches into the pile and says “I was waiting for you...I’ve been holding this one just for you?” What if He, in His infinite wisdom, has grown just the perfect relationship, out of His complete knowledge of our hearts? A "watermelon" with just the right amount of sweetness, the perfect color, firmness, ripeness? Knowing us as He does, would He not delight in giving us the desires of our heart? And we might miss it, if we're not careful.

I don't want to miss what He has in store for me! As hard as it is to turn my eyes away from that stack of luscious-looking watermelons, just ripe for the picking...I want to hand that decision over to the Grower--and let Him hand me the one He's made just for me. I know I’m no watermelon expert...I've wrestled one out of His hands already and am now looking at the remains all splattered on the sidewalk (never a pretty sight!)--and I've determined that the only thing my hands are going to do, given another chance, is reach for Him.