Manna from Heaven. Gifts from God directly to us. Recently, our manna came in the shape of a tangerine tree. For weeks the shiny green tree sat filled with tangerines - more than we could ever eat. It’s a small tree but there were hundreds of tangerines waiting to be tasted, savored, enjoyed. The tree’s gift to us. And we didn't partake. As I sat daily in my prayer garden, I would look at the tree that was sagging with the weight of the fruit and feel slightly guilty that we hadn’t harvested it.
Finally, one day we simply started picking the fruit. There was so much we decided to juice a lot of it. It was a wonderful old fashioned kind of experience. My daughter, granddaughter and I washed, and peeled bowls and bowls of the little orange beauties. It reminded me of when I sat with my grandmother in her back yard snapping green beans. I also remembered the time my mother and I made peach, apricot and cherry jam when I was about 12.
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However, this time I was the grandma creating a memory with my grandchild, sitting at my kitchen table, washing, peeling, juicing these dozens of little free gifts from Heaven. Little round bits of orange goodness. When the golden, sunny liquid was finally ready, we filled glasses and cheered each other for our hard work! Then I took a sip. Delicious! My mind reeled with the sweet, delicious flavor of the tree's fresh fruit.
We are such a 2018 family. Computers, Facebook, video games, fast food, television, iPhone. Everything fast, instant. Sleek. Glossy and solitary. This experience was tactile. The lovely fragrance of green and tangerines. Chatting and laughing with EACH OTHER as we washed and peeled the fruit.
Manna refers to the food that fell from Heaven and fed the Israelites for their 40 years in the desert. It was a sign of God taking care of their needs.
My little fruit tree was God giving to us. But more than just delicious fruit and juice. He gave us the gift of the experience as well. I asked my granddaughter if she would remember this and she said,”Absolutely.” Just like I remember the smell of peach jam cooking in my mother’s kitchen.
An interesting thing about manna is that it was only to be collected for each day. It was not to be saved, except for Sabbath. We are given enough manna for each day's needs, which means God has gifts for us EVERY DAY. Sometimes they are obvious, bright orange and taste like tangerines. Sometimes they are lessons, memories, experiences. But He wants to give us gifts - good gifts. Gifts that will nourish, encourage and sustain us. They are sitting in front of us in the shape of our families, our pets, our friends, and our home. It took effort to harvest our little tree. But there was still delight, even in the work and the reward was great.
What manna did you receive today? What gifts did the Lord have for you? Are you noticing them? Or perhaps, like me, you haven't taken the time to really allow the Lord to give you all that He wants for you.
There are gifts from our Lord every day of our lives. All we need to do is receive them.