The Little Produce Stand

I pass the house all the time.
I watched as the changes began to happen.
I saw that the land in the back of the property was cleared.
I saw a vegetable garden.

It is not easy to look at this house when I drive past.
It sits on a corner of a three way intersection.
The stop sign at this corner says, right turn keep moving.
Since this is the way to the main road, I am always turning right.

Whenever someone in front of me has to stop, I get a change to look at the house.
A pool was built.
The barn was cleaned up a bit.
Signs of life were there again.

I saw a little shed behind the barn.
I saw cars on the driveway that goes along the barn to the house.
I began to see signs in front of the barn.
The signs said, Produce.

There was a little produce stand behind the barn.
I began to read the signs each time I passed.
Tomatoes, peppers, zucchini…I could not read everything so quickly.
I made a mental note to stop there, since I like to buy local produce.

The summer went by and I never stopped at the little produce stand.
I saw gorgeous sunflowers in large buckets that tempted me on many occasions.
I was disappointed that I never took the time to stop.
I always thought about it as I was coming home with groceries in my car.

Now that fall is approaching, I am noticing other things at the barn.
I see bright orange pumpkins.
I see large potted mums in various colors.
I was trying to turn my head as best I could to see what else I might see.

When I noticed bales of hay, I knew that I had to stop there.
This is the time I do my fall decorating.
Cornstalks, bales of hay, pumpkins, gourds, and mums are all things I buy.
I have an old primitive scarecrow, named Patches, that greets people who come to my door.

The farm where I used to get my hay and cornstalks has a new owner.
I knew that this was the year I would have to find another place.
This barn, with its produce stand, is close to my house.
I was delighted about supporting local people and hoped that I could meet them as well.

I told my husband I was going to stop at the barn.
I knew that when I got home with my fall decorations, he would be there to help me.
I drove the few miles to get to the barn.
I pulled into the long driveway.

The property was even more lovely when I actually stepped foot on it.
The mums were in neat rows on the ground.
The purple asters were attracting large bees.
Lush kale was bursting out of their pots.

There were bales of hay under a small tent.
There was a primitive wooden pumpkin that caught my eye.
There were bushels of assorted gourds, the size of which I had never seen before.
There were bushels of mini pumpkins.

Everything was displayed so neatly.
Plastic bags, with a yellow happy face, were hanging for you to carry your purchases.
Corn stalks were leaning against the barn.
Delectable produce was inside the adorable shed.

I did not know where to begin.
I opened the back of my minivan so I could start loading my car.
I got a pad of paper and a pen from my pocketbook to add up my items.
Inside the shed, there was a mailbox with a slot, in which the money would go.

A family was also making their selections at the same time.
The woman seemed more familiar with how this all worked.
I asked her if the mailbox was how you paid for everything.
Yes, she said, it is on an honor system.

The people were in their house, while customers purchased whatever they needed.
Everything was labeled so clearly.
One sign in particular caught my eye.
It had the same yellow happy face that I saw on the bags.

Smile, you’re on candid camera.
The sign made me smile.
I looked up and saw that small cameras were strategically placed all around.
It still operated on an honor system; they trusted all of us to pay for what we bought.

There was a ledger where we were asked to record our purchases.
My totals agreed both on my paper and in their ledger.
I also wrote a small note.
Thanks so much! I’ll be back! (I drew the same yellow happy face)

The eyes of the LORD are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good.
(Proverbs 15:3)

The Lord sees everything.
For those who love and obey Him, that thought is comforting.
For those who reject Him and want no part of Him, that thought is an affront.
They feel as if God is a judge in the sky waiting to get them when they do something wrong.

God is a loving Father who cares for His children.
God is not a puppeteer, pulling strings for us to do this or do that.
When we love God, we want to please Him.
We still sin, but our sin grieves us terribly.

I could never have left the barn without paying for my things.
I would never have dreamed of taking something or miscounting on purpose.
It is not because the cameras were watching me.
Rather, it is because God watches me and I do not want to displease Him.

Take comfort in the fact that God watches over you every minute of every day.
Smile.