April 18, 2005
I arrived at the school early. Children were still playing on the playground so I looked for my grandson as I drove by. I spotted him about the same time he spotted me. His face lit up and he excitedly announced, “My grandma is here.” He was happily surprised; especially since my picking him up was unexpected.
I was first in line for kid pick-up. My grandson was still beaming when his teacher walked him to my car. As soon as he was in my car, my grandson couldn’t wait to hand me a special gift he clutched in his closed fist. His hand, still a bit grimy looking from his playground time, opened to reveal a green jellybean. “Here Grandma, I brought this for you.” he proudly announced.
I have a thing about green candy. I do not like green candy. Not green jellybeans, green gumdrops, green Lifesavers, green gumballs or anything green. I even scoop around the green of rainbow sherbet. The taste of green candy reminds me of the smell of cleaning products. Where I got this idea I do not know. But this has been a quirk of mine for most of my life.
In spite of my green candy aversion, without hesitation I took the lone green jellybean offered to me from the palm of my grandson’s hand and popped it into my mouth. I don’t know where he got the green jellybean. I don’t know how many other jellybeans he had. I never saw him with any more. I think he only had two since he told me he ate an orange one before he came outside. What I do know is that green jellybean was the best tasting candy I have had in a long time because it was flavored with the love of a dear grandson wanting to share something good with his grandma. I thanked him for sharing with me.
Later I thought of the many times God offers us a “green jellybean”. Perhaps we reject the “green jellybean” because it is not our preference, our choice, our favorite thing, or our plan. A blessing is missed because we do not view the “green jellybean” as a love offering from our heavenly Father for our ultimate good. Lord, please help me to accept and appreciate the “green jellybeans” of life. Help me to keep enjoying all candies that are colored with love, even if they are green...
