I ran to his side when I heard of the challenges he was facing. There were mistakes made based on poor judgment on his part, but he was a good man and I called him “friend.”

“At the moment, I am not very proud of myself,” he said.

“But will you be at the end of the day?” I asked.

In the span of a lifetime, no matter how long or short it may be, there are for many of us, moments, days, perhaps even years when our living it falls far short of God’s expectations and hopefully our own.

People are like fruit trees. From seed created by love, nourished through hope and strengthened by faith we are all destined to produce the unique fruit, (gifts) which only we can bring to the world. We were planted here in life, at this time, this very moment, to fulfill a greater need.

As we grow, we branch out in different directions. Not all branches will produce the same amount of fruit. Some, in fact, may never. But it is in that desire to grow, to become all we were meant to be, that we sometimes fall short.

Branching out is a part of growing. Heading in the right direction is not always the result.

But unlike the familiar thought that “one bad apple will spoil the barrel,” we cannot cut down an entire tree because a few apples are rotten.

Those moments, those times in our lives which we may not be proud of, cannot…should not destroy an entire life.

God’s time is immeasurable. I would guess my lifetime, my growing from seed to fruit bearing, is but an instant in eternity.

I would like to see it as a single day on His great calendar. I pray then that “At the end of the day,” my lifetime, I can stand before Him and say, “Although there were moments I regret, “at the end of the day,” I am pleased with what I did with the time you had given me.”

Tomorrow, should you fall short of your true abilities, don’t stop trying, reaching, growing. It is not what moments you regret that day that will determine your success in life, but what good fruit you can harvest from it…”At the end of the day.”

Even a bitter apple produces a tasty pie.

Bob Perks Bob@BobPerks.com