The Pumpkin People

I lifted the bin off the shelf.
The masking tape on the top said, Fall decorations.
I knew that everything in the bin were the inside decorations.
I knew that inside the bin were all the fall touches that I love.

I usually put the things in the same place each year.
However, I can switch them up a bit if I choose.
This year, I did switch a few things.
I grouped things together that were not grouped together before.

I sat at the end of my farm table and looked towards my Hoosier cabinet.
There, sitting on an old scale, were two pumpkin people.
I call them, Mr. and Mrs. Pumpkin, for the sake of any child who comes to our home.
From where I was sitting, I had a clear view of their faces.

They have round pumpkin heads.
Mrs. Pumpkin is wearing a dress.
Mr. Pumpkin is dressed in a shirt and pants.
Each have striped legs and brown shoes.

There they sat.
A perfect smile was on their face.
I stared at them for a few minutes.
Their smile never wavered.

Their painted smile never changed.
Their striped legs and painted smile reminded me of my Raggedy Ann doll.
She was my favorite doll when I was a little girl.
Her smile was always there; it never changed.

I stared at the pumpkin people for a while.
My stare caused them to go out of focus for a bit.
After blinking, their smile remained.
Their smile was constant but lacked emotion.

I cannot personify the two pumpkin people.
I cannot expect that they will show any emotion.
They are dolls after all.
I can imagine, though.

My imagination was vivid as a child.
Perhaps being an only child helped my imagination blossom.
It allowed me to go anywhere I wanted.
It allowed me to make up wonderful stories, of which I was a part.

I imagined that my toys came to life as I slept.
I imagined the painted smile of Raggedy Ann got wider.
I imagined that my dolls talked ever so quietly so as not to wake me.
My dolls were clever and knew the exact moment they had to go back in place.

This all happened while I was sleeping.
I imagined the conversations the dolls had on my bedroom floor.
They were part of a world that I was not privy to.
It was a world that existed only in my imagination.

The pumpkin people never flinched as I sat there remembering.
I turned my head and they were still smiling.
I never caught them mid smile.
I never caught the slightest motion.

...a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance. (Ecclesiastes 3;4)

Emotions are given to us by God.
Unlike the pumpkin people, we have a whole gamut of emotions.
God’s Word reminds us that there is a time for each of them.
We have to remember that our emotions do not rule us.

Our emotions are subject to the Lordship of Christ.
If we think of our life as a train, our emotions and feelings must never be the engine.
Emotions and feeling change all the time.
We need our will (which should be in line with God’s will) as our engine.

Emotions and feelings are the caboose of our train.
They are not in control.
We know what our days are like when our feelings control our actions.
It is not wise; the decisions we make, based on feelings, are not the best.

I do not want to walk around with a painted smile on my face.
I want to appreciate the full gamut of my emotions.
However, I do not want those emotions to control me.
With God’s help, my emotions and feelings are my caboose and never my engine.

I will pass by the pumpkin people on my way to bed.
I will wonder, just for a second, if any of my childhood imaginings are true.
I know their smile will greet me in the same way the next morning.
The pumpkin people are incapable of anything else.

We, who are made in God’s image, have a full range of emotions and feelings.
God designed us that way.
Our emotions are under God’s Sovereign hand.
They do not control us; we belong to Him.