Random Weirdness for Monday

I'm sitting here partaking of a favorite snack -- pistachios. I almost always buy them in a big bag, in their shells but one time I decided it would be easier to just buy them already shelled. Big mistake. They aren't nearly as good that way, at least I don't think so. Plus, you eat more because it's easier.

One thing that makes me strangely excited is when I find a pistachio out of its shell, just sitting there among the others. It's like I've found a rare, hidden gem! Weird, right? That also means there is a shell in there with no nut and when I find those, I feel ripped off. I told a friend just last week that it's crossed my mind when I get a new bag to sort through them and make sure I have no more empty shells than random nuts. And she looked at me as if I am nuts. Of course I don't have time but I just wonder if I have more empty shells because it sure seems that way.

Anyway, the point of this is that life is like that sometimes. There are those seasons when the hard things are all around you, closing in and just when you can't take anymore, there is an gem waiting in the midst for you. I know I've experienced that a lot lately. It might seem like the empty shells are all there is, but then, out of the blue, there it is. It could be a card, a random phone call, a lunch date, whatever. It's just a fantastic discovery. Likewise, there are those we come across who are empty -- nothing to offer and begging to be filled. You can no more fill them than you can reinsert a whole pistachio that somehow fell out. Only God can fill their cavernous hole but you can encourage them along their way.

Just as with my bag of pistachios where I know there are hidden free-range-nuts, life has those hidden free-range-nuts. And when we find them? Let's praise God for putting a gem in our path!