EVERYDAY ADVENTURES

Pumpkin Paradise

When my kids were little, every fall we drove into the country to visit our local pumpkin patch. We had several to choose from but usually picked the one closest to home because traveling with preschoolers is complicated.

We had to get everyone up, fed, dressed and out the door, which could take most of the morning on a bad day. To make matters worse, we usually ended up going on the hottest day of the season. It doesn’t take much heat to melt a preschooler, so we tried to get an early start. And, of course, hot days meant sunscreen, which added another 20 minutes of chaos before we could finally make it to the car.

Oh, but wait, did we pack snacks? How about water bottles? You can’t drag kids around a sunny field without food and water. What about their orange shirts? You have to have orange shirts to get a cute picture. For goodness sake, what in the world did we do with the orange shirts? Has anyone seen the orange shirts?

You get the idea. It was an act of Congress just to get on the road, and that was just the beginning. Going to the country meant winding roads and hills. That translated into carsick kids. I had to drive at a snail’s pace just to avoid the consequences. Trust me, you do not want to roll into a hot pumpkin patch with two nauseous preschoolers. Now you understand why we chose the one closest to home.

You get the idea. It was an act of Congress just to get on the road, and that was just the beginning. Going to the country meant winding roads and hills. That translated into carsick kids. I had to drive at a snail’s pace just to avoid the consequences. Trust me, you do not want to roll into a hot pumpkin patch with two nauseous preschoolers. Now you understand why we chose the one closest to home.

Despite the hectic preparations, once we actually made it to the pumpkin patch, we always had a blast. However, it seemed like each year the crowds grew larger and the pumpkins got more expensive. It wasn’t exactly the simple, let’s-drive-to-a-farm-and-pick-pumpkins experience we’d had in mind.

Then, one day it happened! We stumbled onto the cozy roadside pumpkin stand! My wife and I were just out for a relaxing drive one morning, minding our own business, when we spotted it perched at the edge of a farm. It was a huge black wagon parked at the end of a long driveway covered in pumpkins.

I slammed on the brakes and pulled in beside it. I couldn’t believe my eyes. We were only 10 minutes from home, and this place was a harvest wonderland. The wagon had a bazillion pumpkins on it, all priced dirt cheap. They even had a bucket on the ground that let you pay on the honor system.

I slammed on the brakes and pulled in beside it. I couldn’t believe my eyes. We were only 10 minutes from home, and this place was a harvest wonderland. The wagon had a bazillion pumpkins on it, all priced dirt cheap. They even had a bucket on the ground that let you pay on the honor system.

No crowds, no lines, no scorching heat. Just the comfortable shade of a tree-lined driveway and a beautiful field beyond it.

My wife and I couldn’t believe our eyes. This was perfect. It was quaint, picturesque and peaceful, and did I mention just 10 minutes from our house? So, needless to say, we went home and soon returned with our girls. It was so fun and so easy. We were definitely going to make this roadside stand our new annual tradition.

We came back the next year and the next, and then tragedy struck. After that, the wagon disappeared. Someone told us that the owners of the farm had just grown the pumpkins as a 4-H project when their kids were young but then gave it up.

To this day, though, I’m still holding out hope. Every year as October approaches, I drive down that road by the farm, just on the off chance that I might find that cozy roadside stand once again.

Over the years we visited several different orchards and pumpkin patches and had a great time, but there was something special about that wagon and the memories we made there.

Over the years we visited several different orchards and pumpkin patches and had a great time, but there was something special about that wagon and the memories we made there.

It makes me think of what David wrote in the 23rd Psalm: “He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul” (Psalm 23:2-3 NIV).

In a world as hectic as ours, you can’t overestimate the value of green pastures and quiet waters to renew your soul. Sometimes it’s literally a place of natural beauty and stillness like our roadside stand, and other times it may just be a quiet moment we carve out in our living room before the kids wake up or five minutes we take in our car to pray before we go into work.

Whatever it looks like for you and wherever you can find this week, make time for some green pastures. Look for the unexpected quiet places, and don’t be surprised if the God who created you and loves you meets you there. Life will always be busy, but making space for green pastures, that’s up to you.•

Photo credit:  JSim2018 / shutterstock.com