Credit Cards and Peanut Butter

The kids and I were at a Cracker Barrel a couple of months ago, and the line to pay was pretty long.  I stood in line while the gentleman - who looked a little like an off-season Santa - rang us up.  When I got up to the register, I handed him the bill and some cash.  He loudly and excitedly exclaimed, "Oh, good!  There are two things I despise: credit cards and peanut butter!  Peanut butter is an abomination, and I wish I could get my hands on the guys who ruined peanuts!"  I turned my head around slowly, thinking, "Surely he's talking to someone else?" But we were all stunned by this sudden vehement outburst from this otherwise cheerful little man. 

I have to admit that, for me, peanut butter holds a celebrity status in the realm of my food fascinations.  I revere the man who developed peanut butter!  The fact that Cracker Barrel Santa does not share my opinion is mind-boggling.  George Washington Carver is my hero.  I am not saying this lightly, either.  This man was so inspired by God that he changed the course of agriculture in the South.  He developed over 300 practical uses for the peanut, increasing the demand for a crop that could grow in Southern soil without the threat from the destructive boll weevil.  Enterprise, Alabama has a boll weevil statue in the center of town.  In my opinion, this classically formed Greek goddess should be hoisting George Washington Carver instead of the huge bug.  After all, the bug was the problem, Mr. Carver was the solution. 

Very often, things look so dim in our lives.  It looks like all is lost.  The South was going under financially because their crops were being destroyed.  People were going hungry, and it looked like the end was imminent.  The cursed bug was ruining everything, and it seemed like all was lost.  But isn't it amazing that God Himself had a plan?  He took a former slave from Missouri and sent him into the deep South with a purpose and a plan, confirming that "in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose." (Romans 8:28)

We cannot look at things with our natural eyes!  We need to keep the hearts of our spirit open to see what things God wants to accomplish.  He does not want us to meet destruction; instead, He longs for us to know favor and prosperity.  He wants to establish us as pillars in a struggling world.  We are placed here in these crazy circumstances to be a source of strength and redemption for people who are falling into deep pits all around us.  God will work all things out for good in your life!  You are called according to His purposes!  The enemy wants to make you think otherwise.  He wants to blind your spiritual eyes so that all you see is natural circumstance.  Don't be fooled, though!  God can take all the bugs and pests that the enemy wants to send your way and erect monuments of His glory and deliverance in your life!  Keep your eyes open.  You will see your deliverance.  I am certain of this.

Yep.  Peanut butter is a good thing.  George Washington Carver was a man after God's own heart, and he was able to bring a godly purpose to many.  I don't like credit cards, but I sure do love my peanut butter!