The Pumpkin Patch

Many years ago when I was just a child and my mother taught Sunday School she wrote this story to share with her class.  A few years ago I found it tucked between the pages of an old book.  It was handwritten out with her own colored pictures that she drew to go with the story.  I wanted to share it with you as a trip down memory lane.

The Pumpkin Patch by Connie Gundlach

One sunny day in October on a farm out in the country there was a very special pumpkin patch. This pumpkin patch was a place where all of the town folks came to pick out there pumpkins for the holidays. In this pumpkin patch, there was a very special pumpkin and his name was George. It was the day before Halloween and George was enjoying the fresh air and sunshine. God gives pumpkins just enough fresh air and sunshine to get nice and orange before Halloween. Suddenly he realized what day it was. Now, George wasn’t a pie pumpkin he had been growing and growing with a purpose. He was going to be just the right shape for a Halloween jack-o-lantern. Pies are all right for some pumpkins but not for George and he was becoming worried it looked like no one was going to buy him to be their Halloween pumpkin. People came and went all morning. People were hurrying and scurrying and kicking up dust all through the pumpkin patch trying to pick just the right pumpkin. George tried so hard to be just the right pumpkin. He tried to be the orangeiest, the biggest, and the roundest but still the people didn’t choose him. He was beginning to feel very sad and lonely. All George wanted to do was cry. It was starting to get dark and no one had chosen him to be their jack-o-lantern yet. But, just as George thought all the people were leaving one family hurried in to the pumpkin patch. There was a little boy and girl walking up and down the rows looking over all the pumpkins.

George tried to be just as orange as he could. He was being so still he could hear them talking. What were they saying? “Do you know what my Sunday school teacher said last week Johnny?” “No Susie, what did she say?” “That we must never feel lonely or sad. Jesus loves us and is always our friend if we ask him to be.” “How do we ask him to be our friend?” said Johnny. “Oh, that’s the easy part.” Susie said. “Just close your eyes and say Jesus sometimes I am not the best I can be and do wrong things but would you please forgive me and be my friend for always?” The children walked right on by past George, but he even though they didn’t choose him he felt better. Maybe, even if no one bought him for Halloween he didn’t have to be lonely. Maybe, Susie’s Sunday school teacher was right and Jesus would be his friend even if he weren’t the orangiest or the biggest or the roundest pumpkin in the patch. Maybe, Jesus would like him just as he was because he was George. And, while George was just thinking about how good it would be to have Jesus for a friend he didn’t even notice the little girl walking towards him, that is not until he heard “Look Johnny I think this one would make a perfect jack-o-lantern!” “You’re right Susie that’s the best Halloween pumpkin of them all.” George was thrilled! The little girl was putting her hands around him and picking him up. What made George really happy was that he knew that not only was he chosen to be someone’s special Halloween pumpkin, now he had a special friend too.