Pecan Epiphany

Today I sat for about an hour and shelled some pecans that we had gathered a month ago. It's a daunting task to shell pecans, and it's no wonder they cost about $10 per pound in the stores if you want them in halves. After the third nut that shattered in my hand, I went online to see if there was a better way to extract a worthy-sized nut from these wretched shells. There were various techniques I found that people swore by, but it seems like you have to just use trial and error until you get it. At about the half hour mark, I started to get the feel for how much pressure I needed to exert to crack the outer shell, yet keep the nut in one piece. Then, once I cracked it enough, I could wiggle the nut out of where it was nestled, and add it to my pile. As I cracked and cracked, I had a thought: Pecans are just like people. Not in the "nut" sense (although, there are a few of those, too!) but in the sense that each person has some sort of outer shell, that protects a treasure on the inside.

As I was cracking the pecans, some of them were so hard. Even with the force of a strong grip and a nut cracker, I was not able to make a single crack. This pecan reminded me of those people that have lived such difficult, rough lives, which have driven them to shut themselves out from the rest of the world. They figure if they put a tough enough barrier around them, they will never again feel the pain, disappointment or rejection that the world can, at times, so easily dish out.

Some of the pecans cracked with great ease. So much so, that in one squeeze of the nutcracker, the whole nut broken into hundreds of tiny pieces, and instead of trying to salvage each minuscule piece of pecan, I just discarded to whole thing and went on to the next one. It reminded me of people who are on the verge of a breakdown. So distraught and broken on the inside, that even normal, every day pressure is enough to shatter them completely.

Other pecans I cracked, revealed a nut inside that was shrivelled and dried up. Inedible, undesirable, and worn out. Ironically, those were the pecans that came out whole, but only because the dryness has caused them to shrink away from the shell and lose all their flavor.

On the rare occasion, I had just the right pressure, and technique, and I was able to hold a whole pecan in the palm of my hand. In my hour of cracking, I managed to get only four whole pecans.

Each pecan different, each result unique. Although every nut fell from the same tree, and from the outside surface appeared to be relatively similar, each nut inside had a its own individual character. Just as all of us are human, and seem to be somewhat similar on the outside, who we really are in the inside can vary so dramatically. As someone cracking nuts, I am able to be selective about what I save and what I discard. Whether I want to waste my time cracking shells or if I would rather let someone else do it for me, is my choice. As I sat and cracked, I kept thinking what a long time it was taking to get such small results. Often I wondered if it was even worth my effort at all. As a human, I have to admit, I sometimes feel the same way about relationships with people. Some are so difficult to handle, so hardened, that I wonder if I can even make a difference. I ponder whether I might even get hurt in the process. Others are so fragile, so delicate, that it's just a matter of moments before they break. Am I willing to be there to help pick up the pieces? Then there are those who are dry and withered and life has evaporated from them. There isn't anything that I, in my human abilities, could even do for them. And those that are whole, pleasing and pleasant seem to be so few and far between. In all of these situations, I, in myself, lack the ability, the strength and sometimes even the motivation to be willing to reach out to those around me. But I, as a child of God, with Holy Spirit power living on the inside of me, possess the tools, the technique and power to reach out to whomever God puts in my path, with effectiveness and love, transforming the hardest of hearts, the most delicate of souls, or the driest spirit. When we realize all that our Savior has done to redeem us, we are then, out of thankful hearts, able to bring the gift of redemption to others.

What a perfect picture of God's kingdom at work within us, touching the world around us, to bring God's realm from heaven to earth once again.