Article June 25, 2012 Issue

You're God's 'peanut'

David Horn

Do you ever feel like God has let you down? Do you do loving things for others, and seldom feel loved back? Before you tell God, “Thanks for nothing,” read what happened to me.

Peanut Week was a big deal at the summer camp I attended. It began on Monday morning, when a basket of peanuts was passed among all the campers, one for the boys and one for the girls. Each nut was wrapped with a small strip of paper. The boys and girls each took a nut from the basket and unwrapped the paper, which told the name of another camper. For the next week, they would be our “peanut,” and we would be their secret “shell.”

Each day that week, we were supposed to do something kind for our peanut. We might leave a candy bar on their pillow, or fold their laundry, or give them a comic book. We did these deeds in secret, so our peanut never knew we were their shell. 