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Yellow Plums

Enjoy this devotional written by a FlourishWriter’s Student…

I heard two shots over my head and old widow Prangly yelling, “Gail, get off my land. I am going to tell your grandmother.” She was going to blab to my grandmother, making things worse.

            I wasn’t supposed to be there.

            Gunshots. Really? I knew they were blanks. She wasn’t that crazy. Still, I wasn’t going to wait to find out.

            I entered the property without permission. Hoping to pick yellow, juicy plums without being noticed. This is a suitable way of saying “stealing.” The law would call it trespassing. I prefer to think of it as trivial plum pocketing.  

            Old widow Prangly’s tree was overflowing with an abundance of yellow plums, the jumbo ones. How could a ten-year old resist? Fully ripened plums. Deliciously sweet. No one would know.

            I gathered up plums in my dress and hurried home. I hid behind my house to eat them, trying to keep out of sight as the juice dripped on my dress. It was hard to ignore the pesky stains.

            I buried the yellow-stained dress at the bottom of the garbage can along with the shame for what I had done. I swore to never speak of it. My plan was to avoid my grandmother’s house for the next month. Maybe grandmother would forget.

            However, one day my mother sent me to the grocery store for grits and eggs. I tried to get out of it, but mom persisted. I was the one to go.  I didn’t want to walk the long way because it was 80 degrees that morning. There was only one shortcut option–to sneak past my grandmother’s house after committing that awful crime.  

            Leaving the store, I tiptoed home past my grandmother’s house. Perhaps she was working in the garden.  I was wrong. I spotted my grandmother in her floral pink house dress with deep pockets on each side.

            I heard my full name: “Gail Gwendolyn Clark, come here!” She was bracing herself against the oak tree in the front yard. Positioning both hands on her waist, she was like a mother bear, ready to strike.

             Slowly, I made my way to her with my head held down. She knew, and I felt ashamed. I was caught like a spider in a web of guilt.

            There was nothing but dead air and intentional silence. I clutched the brown paper bag in both hands. Finally, grandmother asked, “What’s inside the bag?”

I knew she was hunting for something, not just grits and eggs. She said, “Put the bag down, we need to talk!”

            I was trying to sound innocent, “About what?”

She blurted, “Plums. Yellow plums.”

          Placing the bag on the ground, I replied, “I’m sorry.”

Grandmother made it clear, “I know, and this is what you are going to do. Ask God to forgive you for taking those plums without permission. Then, go to Ms. Prangly’s house and apologize. Stealing is a sin!”

          In my defense, it was just yellow plums. Grandmother hammered hard, “It doesn’t matter, small or big, sin is sin.  Romans 3:23 says, ‘For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.’ (NKJV) ‘If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness’ (1 John 1:9, NKJV).”  

          I walked to the old widow Prangly’s house. Rubbing the perspiration off my hands, I tapped on her door. I apologized for stealing her plums. She stammered, “All right, and don’t do it again!” Without hesitation, I agreed.

          Not fully comprehending all my grandmother quoted that day, I knew it mattered to her. Years passed before I fully understood the meaning of those Scriptures for myself.

          It’s good when some lessons linger with you.

          Small or big, sin is sin. Trying to excuse it or play it down will not work. All sin separates us from God’s righteousness. When we view sin as insignificant or trivial, it affects our relationship with God and His righteousness.

          A well-known passage, Psalm 139:1, explains how the LORD knows everything about you. We all have been to forbidden places. We all have names from our past. As imperfect people, we may have been called unfaithful, doubter, instigator, deceiver, people pleaser, bully, coward, sinner, a mess . . . or a plum thief. But those words do not define us. No matter how embarrassing, whatever names you were once called, you receive a brand-new name in Jesus Christ.

          Do you have days of unresolved anger when you need to forgive yourself or others? Imagine God saying to you, “Come here and put your brown paper bag down on the ground. Place your bag of worry, your bag of shame, your bag of regrets down near My feet.”

          Set down the bag. Shake out all the pain and release your grasp. Let it spill out at God’s feet and let him fill you up with your new identity in Christ. 

………………

Gail Clark is the mother of an adult son, certified vision board coach, workshop facilitator, and a friend. She is a retired teacher who will always be a teacher at heart. Gail loves studying the Word of God, reading inspirational books, writing short stories, traveling to warm climates, and creating intentional vision boards. She especially enjoys spending time with her adorable Shih Tzu, Precious. Gail lives in Buffalo, New York, a place with four distinct seasons.

Contact her at [email protected].

Comments

  1. I love this story Gail. It’s well written, engaging, and touches the heart. Whether it’s yellow plums, or a stolen christmas decoration hidden under a bed, the guilt of sin weighs heavy until dealt with in God’s loving kindness. Well done.

    • Thank you, Helen, for what you were able to see and experience in the story in God’s loving-kindness with such gentleness.
      -Gail Clark

    • Gene, someone once said, “The highest prayer is, thank you.” Thank you.
      -Gai Clark

  4. I remember reading your story earlier, but had to read it again. It’s delightful and a joy to ponder the truth that we all sin, but God forgives us if we repent. The burying doesn’t work. It only makes things worse.

    Your author bio is intriguing. I made a vision board once. It was fun to make. I was signed up to go to a class in March. Of course it got canceled.

    Thank you for taking the opportunity to submit your writing to Flourish.

    • Jane, I am so pleased that you were able to go with me again in the story. Pausing to hear and receive God’s truth in such a delightful way that gave you joy. In March, I have made a writer’s vision board, and I am still trusting God with the plan. I pray that God will place the desire in you to create another vision board with Him in mine. He will bless it with loving-kindness.

  5. I loved the imagery of the yellow plums in this story, and of course the lesson at the end. What a lovely devotional.

    And even more fun- I live in Buffalo, NY too! So delighted to see another Buffalo person here!! (: Great job, Gail!

    • Hello Buffalonian. Thank you for your support and encouragement from my home city. Lisa, I am so delighted too that we have common ground.
      -Gail Clark

    • Glentina, thank you. God has a way of being a bright light in the stories of our lives,
      -Gail Clark

  8. Hello Gail, this was a wonderful story, sweetly told. Thank you for sharing it with us!

    • Marjie, thank you for being a part of my small beginnings by enjoying the story. Praise God.
      -Gail Clark

  10. Thank you Gail. I have read your precious story this summer morning as I sit in my garden meditating and praying. I thought to read my Bible and God said; “No, today, read Gail’s story”. You have blessed the beginning of my day today.

    • Teresa, thank you for listening to God, as He reveals other ways that we can still sit in His presence. You have blessed my evening.
      -Gail Clark

    • Wow Gail! Great story and very engaging! I sat here struggling with my own decisions of rights and wrongs big or small, and God lead me to this story. I now know what I need to do. Thanks for allowing God to use you to help lead others in the right direction as that is what this story did for me! Praise God!

    • Janice, you are right. There are times we all need a good reminder, “small or big,” of God’s standards that are for our spiritual growth in Him. It was a kind reminder to me as well.
      -Gail Clark

  13. It is too bad that the old lady was selfish. I wish that she had been kinder to the little girl who didn’t have much sweetness in her life. I wish that she would have let her help her can the plums and keep some. But I am glad that she learned from it.

    • Joyce, sometimes God places people into our lives, just to teach us a lesson of His grace and everlasting mercy. And sometimes they are in our lives, so we can offer prayer and be a light in a dark world. Thank you for reading the story!
      -Gail Clark

  14. Lovely, and thoughtful. Thank you for your words of wisdom….demonstrating why we should write.
    Robin

    • Robin, you are so right. Thank you for that wise reminder to us all. God bless you.
      -Gail Clark

  15. Hi Gail. I really enjoyed getting the refined version. I really enjoyed this piece from the workshop and it is even juicier now! Beautiful job and keep it up. Thank you for sharing!

  16. I really enjoyed this devotional! It reminded me of the special relationship I once shared with my grandmother. She was full of wisdom.
    I loved how you used the innocences of a “plum thief” to show a powerful lesson about God’s forgiveness and sin.

    • Joan, thank you for the quiet assurance that you were able to relate to the story in a meaningful way, because of the reminder of your wise grandmothers, and a God who forgives with loving-kindness.
      -Gail Clark

  17. Love this. Some lessons do stay with us forever. God is so willing to take our brown paper bags of doubts, false identity, worries, and what ever we are clutching, hoping to hide, and give us only forgiveness, mercy and grace. Changing our identity to resemble more of Him.

  18. Love the analogies and the sweetness of how Christ forgives. I stole a strawberry from my neighbor’s garden, once, and my mother made me apologize, too.

    • Sheila, thank you. It’s a blessing to have the loving influences of a mother or grandmother who understands the character of a forgiving God.
      -Gail Clark

  19. Thank you Gail for sharing such a lovely story – I loved reading this sweet plum story!

  20. I love this story and how you used it to show that sin is still sin no matter how insignificant we think it is. I can identify with what you went through with your grandmother. I had a similar experience as I was playing in a neighbor’s yard with a friend. We were using some of her plastic tumblers to play in the dirt. I brought one home with me and you would have thought I robbed the bank. My mother made me take it back to that house, knock on the door and apologize. The lady didn’t even know I had taken it but that lesson is still with me.

    • Barbara, you identified with the story beautifully. I think we are given similar lessons through unforgettable experience to bless others, and to understand our own relationship to a faithful, freeing God. Thank you for your thoughtful support and encouragement.
      -Gail Clark

  21. Great day Gail! Thank you so much for being transparent & sharing a story of the past in relation to the word of God.

    • Kim, thank you for this encouragement, for on-going spiritual growth, and God’s glory.
      -Gail Clark

    • Gleniece, thank you. Some of the best memories are connected to lessons. God bless you.
      -Gail Clark

  24. Gail that was beautiful you need to publish is thisanotherprogramyouareyaking congratulations

  25. Gail – this story becomes alive in my mind’s eye every time I read it. It’s so descriptive and I can even taste the fruit! It was a pleasure to learn along side you in the Power of Story coaching call. Thank you for your vulnerability.

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