Autumn Series Pt 2 - Burt's Pumpkin Farm & Mercier Orchards

As we have been making a point to enjoy this fall season, we recently took a day to drive north of where we live and enjoy some of the attractions of the seasons. I really wanted to go to Burt's Pumpkin farm because every year, for whatever reason we don't make it up there. I felt like everyone had gotten to check it out but me. So we all piled in my dad's car (Sarah, Me, David, and Daddy) and we drove up to see what we could see. Having decided to forgo a trip to the pumpkin farm the year before because when we got up there it was absolutely covered up (that's southern for there being nowhere to park), and I had just told David to drive on, we decided to go pretty early. In fact, we went right at the end of September. We were really lucky, because at that time of the season, it's pretty busy, but we were able to find a parking space and it didn't feel claustrophobic at all.

The highlight of the farm trip was getting to take a hayride. Sunflowers are my favorite, so I really enjoyed driving through the sunflower and pumpkin patches and getting to see how the farm worked. It was a pleasant ride, and my sister Sarah got to relive her childhood fear of the animatronic Pumpkins (Gordy and Autumn). As a child, they'd seemed really scary to her, so it was fun for her to get to come back and see that it was just a memory laced with hyperbole and that it was really nothing at all to be afraid of.

Something that really resonated with me, was how around that time was when I was struggling to turn my life around and bring my heart back to Jesus. I was feeling a lot of guilt about how I had been behaving toward my faith, and how instead of leaning on Him during the tough times, I had completely pushed Him away and shut it out entirely. Even though I knew in my heart that forgiveness was what the Lord is all about, I was having a hard time forgiving myself and I was carrying around an intense amount of guilt as I sought forgiveness - not feeling at all like I deserved to be forgiven. In fact, for a while, I was really ashamed to even ask my Lord to forgive me.

Well anyway, in the midst of this time, God was everywhere in my life. He never let me forget about Him, now that I was actively seeking him again. I would go to the bathroom at the grocery store, and there would be a sticker on the stall door with scripture on it. I would see billboards, road signs, advertisements on the internet. I would get in the car with my girlfriend, who I rarely talked about faith with, and she would bring it up to me. God wasn't letting me forget about Him this time. He didn't care about my guilt and my shame; He wanted me back. For good, this time.

This hayride was no exception to this rule. Indeed, in no other place but that hayride, those animatronic pumpkins started talking to us about what it meant to be a child of God. Gordy was telling Autumn about how he was afraid to become a jack-o-lantern because they scraped all your insides out and put a light inside of you. Autumn wisely explained to him that it could be a good thing, that becoming a jack-o-lantern was much like becoming a child of God - clearing out all of the bad stuff inside of you and being born again as something new - something with a light inside of you. Someone that can go out into the world with that light and draw others in.

I think a few people laughed, because the lesson was meant for the kids in general. But for me, it was something I still think about weeks later. It was soon after that that I began to feel the forgiveness I was ashamed to seek. At the time, I didn't make the connection or even attribute anything to that message, but looking back, I have no doubt that it was meant for me to hear. I needed to know that all of the things in the past didn't matter. That what mattered now was that I was willing to put it all behind me and open myself up so that my faith could take over. It was the pathway I'd been searching for to be saved again. It just proves that God can use anything to His advantage, anytime, and any place.

Photos courtesy of Mercier orchards

Another great place we visited that day was Mercier Orchards. We got there just in time for the wagon tour of the orchards, and filled ourselves with their famous fried pies, fudge dipped apples, muscadine slushies, and fudge. The store at Mercier's is pretty special because it has so many things to look at - so many different kinds of jellys, jams, preserves, dip mixes, sauces, decorations, kitchen utensils, toys, and collectables. A person could stay there all day.We went home with a frozen jug of cider and a bag of apples - our stomachs begging us for real food. It is always special to get to visit up there and try new things and to enjoy the things that are so unique to that place.

The very best part of that trip was what a laid back and pleasant day that was for us. It really was such a joy to be able to take our time, relax, and spend the entire day together. No one got angry or fussed about time or wanting to do something others didn't - it just wasn't that kind of day. It was one of the most pleasurable Sundays spent in my immediate memory. I am always advocating for more of those. Family so often is put on the back-burner, that we are all guilty of taking our time with loved ones for granted. I know I am extremely guilty of that. And so, it was dually a blessing to enjoy each other and take our time to savor the season and the peace that fall transitions us to receive.

Thanks for reading, and I hope you are enjoying all of the things this wonderful season has to offer!

Blessings!