The Nutcracker Suite

How many times in our lives have we anticipated an event that was really important to us, only to be disappointed when circumstances altered our much anticipated plans? I am sure we have all experienced this.

For many years my husband has been thrilling our family, friends and the many service people with a gift of shelled pecans around Thanksgiving and Christmas. We have a couple of native pecan trees, which he will not go to the effort to shell because they are so difficult with such a small amount of results. Therefore, he has been dependent on the generosity of sweet friends who have pecan trees with pecans to share. It keeps him busy through the fall months. There have been years when he has shelled 100s of pounds of pecans! This is his ministry.

We have an old cellar that has served as his nut shelling room for many years. This year we decided to get him from “under ground” and fix up the old brick chicken coop that has been used for junk storage for many years! What started out as a simple project became a massive project. So… after many trips to purchase supplies, many hours of our carpenter’s labor, and MANY dollars…VOILA’!...A wonderful, carpeted and decorated room with art work, 3 Stooges plaques, and satellite radio tuned to “Willie’s Roadhouse!” What more could he want to start his pecan shelling season? PECANS!

Sadly, the pecan crop in our area has been a failure this year. He has been so disappointed. Pecan Shed and other outlets have had our business just so he could at least start shelling while waiting for some area crops!

Yes, life can be disappointing, but as it says in Philippians 4:6, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your request to God.”