Sometime around the beginning of the COVID pandemic, I started playing Words With Friends. It was a transition from Scrabble to a slightly more complicated game. There are some members of my family who think perhaps I am “addicted” to this hobby. That debate will not make much of a dent in my enjoyment of the wonderful world of words.
I play with some folks I have known for years, while others are people the computer introduces me to. There is a chat function in the game that allows for comments and conversations. The extrovert in me has taken full advantage of that feature. Over the years I have made connections with a number of “friends” who live all over the world.
One of those friends, whom I will call “V,” and I began to converse while she regularly whipped me at the game. Somewhere along the way, we discovered that we shared a connection with the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). We even knew some of the same people. Small world!
She lives in Indiana on what we would call out West a fruit ranch. She has become a regular reader of my blog and often offers encouragement and thoughtful insights.
Five years ago, I was just getting home from a battle royal with COVID. During my recovery, V messaged me and asked if I would like some apples from their fall harvest.
“Heck Yes!”
I was not prepared for the cornucopia of delights that would arrive via FedEx from the heartland. The official name of their family operation is Chandler’s Orchard and Country Market. Words like wholesome, delicious, tasty, country, and traditional come to mind. Opening that box was like opening the cupboards in my mom’s kitchen. There was something wonderfully familiar about it all.
So, a few days ago, I got a text from V. She was inquiring about MK’s recovery and then asked, “Are you ready for this year’s apples?”
Is the Pope a Bears fan?
They arrived last Friday, and once again, they did not disappoint. These folks grow apples as big as grapefruit and as tasty as any I have ever eaten. One apple, sliced up, will satisfy Zach, MK, and me.
Before they arrived, I found myself wondering, “Are they really that good, or do I just want them to be?”
Well, after some serious research involving a sharp knife and my taste buds, I can report that they really ARE that good.
If there were a Michelin Star guide for apples, Chandler’s would be the benchmark. Five stars, and I would gladly award a sixth.
But there is something even more special about this annual delivery from Indiana.
It is the friendship and faith we share.
V is a woman whose soul runs deep. She has been shaped by both the simple but thoughtful faith of the Disciples of Christ and the everyday realities of life on a farm. Our denomination describes itself as “A Movement for Wholeness in a Fragmented World.”
I rather like that description. And I rather like the way this friendship has become a small expression of it.
Think about it. Two people who might never have met, living hundreds of miles apart, begin playing a word game. They discover a common faith, share stories, and somewhere along the way become friends.
And now, every autumn, a box arrives on my doorstep filled with the fruits of that friendship.
She gets a blog, and I get the world’s best apples, along with Sweet Orange Pickles, pumpkin seeds, licorice, pickled okra, and all the wonderful smells of abundance.
Not a bad arrangement!
Perhaps wholeness in a fragmented world sometimes comes in a cardboard box delivered by FedEx.
How about them apples?
Onward and Upward,
Mark
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