Life is like a box of peaches

Hyrum likes his peaches. They're his favorite food right now, ahead of oatmeal and yams. Later this weekend we'll see how they stack up against hamburger, but I'm guessing peaches will still be #1.

This means that someone (Joy) gets to prepare them. This week she went to a local farmers' market (one that doesn't think that people should pay an extra 50% for the privilege of buying local) and bought a box of peaches. She wanted to prepare them so they would stay fresh and yummy for a long time.

To do this, she first cleans and boils the peaches for a short time (though at 4-5 peaches per boiling and a whole box of em, it takes a long time). Then she removes the skin and tastes the cooked peach to see if it's a sweet peach (= happy baby) or a not-so-sweet peach (= happy garbage disposal? I'm not sure what she does then.)

Having decided a peach is worthy, she removes the pit, mashes it up, and freezes it in these little baby food ice cube trays. Once frozen, the 2 oz pieces of frozen peach are placed in plastic bags and removed one at a time for Hyrum's dinner each day. What a woman!

"Thank you for the peaches, Mom!

It's a lot of work, and I'm sure glad you think I'm worth it."

So how is this like life? Well, she didn't have time to get to all the peaches she boiled yesterday. Today all the peaches she had boiled had gone bad. The peaches she hadn't boiled were just fine. This led me to the following conclusion:

The peaches start out in a state of relative innocence. They can't remain that way, though, or they will be of no use. So they undergo a process that I have to imagine is pretty painful from the peach's perspective. The purpose is to save the peach. However, the same process that preserves peaches for a long time also has the potential to corrupt them and make them bitter. In the end, with the pit removed, you would hardly recognize the old peach.

We started off living with our Father in Heaven in a state of relative innocence. We couldn't remain that way or the purpose of our creation would have been frustrated. So He sent us here to earth to undergo a process that can seem pretty painful sometimes from our perspective. The purpose is to save us and our families. If we don't let God finish His work in us, though, and make use of Jesus' Atonement, we will be corrupted and bitter. In the end, with our old, sinful self removed, one would hardly recognize the glorious beings made in His image.

Thank you for your love and sacrifice, Jesus.

It's a lot of work, and I'm sure glad you think we're worth it.

(PS - I'm also thankful for a wife who reminds me of Jesus, just by being herself.)