What do apples have to do with Valentine’s Day?  (Not much, unless you’re looking for a healthy gift). Hang around a bit, though, and find out.

Let’s suppose your dining room table is cleared off enough to warrant a centerpiece, and you are looking for such a thing this very minute (remember, this is not real life—we’re just supposing here).  You don’t want anything too small, too garish, too expensive, but it must be something to eye-catching and practical (of course).

You choose a basket of delicate, loosely-woven silver, and fill it with bright, yellow fruit—apples, lemons, quince, etc.  The basket partially conceals, yet-- at the same time-- highlights the fruit.

Now, to Proverbs 25:11- “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in pictures of silver.”  What if all of our words were like that:  not a passing remark to amuse nearby listeners but jab cruelly at our target, but a pleasing, well-timed comment—maybe advice, maybe an observation-- designed to adapt and fit smoothly into the conversation: discreet words given graciously. 

Hard to do-- absolutely!  Impossible—no!  What a Valentine’s Day gift that would make (and no shopping required)!