The pumpkin patch makes my back hurt and my face smile. In the far corner of the patch there is a young couple with a tiny baby in the mom’s arms. Dad’s taking pictures. After some minutes pass, I walk over and tell them we have a special place set up for picture taking if they wanted to use it.
Precious Laura had brought her parents to work the patch for a while. Beverly had the idea to make a special area for folks to use to take pictures, so she just offs down the road to an outdoor market and returns with bales of hay and some potted flowers. Just like that we have this special little picture taking area.
David and Laura donated a car to our Multiplying Ministries campaign. A minor brain storm occurred: Let’s put the car in the pumpkin patch with a sign that reads: Buy one pumpkin for $1,500 and you receive this one-owner, 1999 Ford Taurus for FREE. Steve puts a pumpkin on top of the car for that extra attention grabber. We’re all standing around thinking this is too cool.
After a while the couple with the tiny baby comes over to the special picture taking area. I have to talk with them again. He looks brand new, I say. He’s two weeks, mom says. Dad asks if I’ll take some picture of them, which I’m thrilled to do. As I try to focus, my eyes start watering.
What my brain sees is my beautiful Sharon holding our first born son… and I pray, Oh God, thank you for my memories.
I cleared my eyes and took some pictures. They thanked me profusely and had no idea what emotions they sparked in my brain (my soul?) in the few minutes we were together.
It was probably less than two hours from when Steve put the pumpkin on the car when Tom and Sharon decided to buy the car for Becky. Becky was recently named a finalist for the National Merit Scholarship.
As we’re getting ready to close for the day, LeRoy finds a child’s toy purse. There’s no name in it but it does have a toy cell phone and a toy debit card. Debit card, cool—not a credit card. I tell LeRoy maybe its Kathryn Bell’s daughter’s and maybe they’ll come back tomorrow to get it. That’d be cool.
Driving home I'm thinking I need to take some aspirin for my back, then realize I'm smiling - this was a really cool day at the pumpkin patch!
Charlie Spriggs
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