One day an elderly man entered into a hospital. He was grumpy from being on
medication and the nurses thought him to be insane, as he yelled for his wife to
get the apple basket. By the time they had checked him into his room the nurses
were exhausted from the fight he was putting up.
"Sir you have to calm down we are doing everything we can for you" they would
try to explain.
"I don't need your help" the grumpy man would yell "I want my apple basket". He
finally slept. The nurses sighed with relief and talked among themselves whether
they should call the hospital psychologist about the old man and his obsession
with the apple basket.
As they talked and laughed about the situation the wife came in carrying the
basket of apples. They looked kind of stunned as she asked if she could see her
husband and deliver his basket. Sure, they agreed as they watched her slip past
into his room.
Curiosity consumed them over the next few weeks as they tended to the elderly
man. He was eaten with cancer and the doctors had given him no hope of survival.
He turned out to be a very calm, happy man once he had his basket. His wife,
they noticed, would come in with apples and go out with apples and the curiosity
grew even more till one nurse couldn't stand the suspense.
One night as he was nearing the end, the nurse sat down in a chair by the wife.
"May I ask why do you have that apple basket? I just don't understand the
significance."
"I am an apple farmer by trade he sighed. From the time I was 20 till the day I
do die I will forever have my apples." The nurse nodded thinking she understood.
He just likes his work, she thought, assured now he was a little bit crazy.
As she started to leave, the old man asked her to sit down. "At age 20 I was
saved, I accepted the Lord as my savior." Oh no, the nurse thought. Here comes
the lecture on religion. The old man continued.
"The day I accepted the Lord as my savior I got this basket, and each time I had
a problem or concern that I could not handle, I put an apple in the basket
un-shined."
"Why?" The nurse said shaking her head.
"Because it reminded me to give those problems to the Lord for him to shine. See
my basket now, he stated. As my problems disappear so do the apples. As I get
new problems, ones I cannot handle alone, I put an apple in."
The humble nurse looked into the basket. Only one apple was there. With that, he
took a big breath and grabbed his wife by the hand and faded into eternal sleep.
The wife paused for a moment and got up from her place to take from the basket
the last remaining apple. She whispered in his ear that his reward awaits him in
heaven.
The nurse stayed still and asked with tears in her eyes, "what do you think his
riches will be?"
The wife knew what they were, eternal life with Jesus Christ. But she could see
the concern and sadness upon the young nurses' face and handed her the apple and
said "the biggest apple pie you can imagine!"
That was the day the young nurse was saved, and from that day on she always had
a basket by her bed.
You don't have to carry all the burdens of this world by yourself. Give them to
God to ease your load. For he cares for you.
Psalm 55:22 "Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and He shall sustain thee: He shall
never suffer the righteous to be moved."
Author unknown. If anyone has a proprietary interest in this story please
authenticate and I will be happy to credit, or remove, as the circumstances
dictate.
Thanks to The Story of Encouragement
PBN@pbnradio.com
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