The Brand New Pumpkin Poem
Every October, amidst the games and candy at our little church's fall festival, I man the story station. Usually I read Liz Curtis Higgs' excellent book The Pumpkin Patch Parable to share the gospel with kids and parents. (Over 400 visitors last year!)
This year, I'll use a 4-foot-tall picture book my daughter Caroline drew and a kid-friendly poem I wrote. As a former pumpkin farming family ourselves, we love the simple gospel parable of the pumpkin. In case it might be helpful to you, here's the poem:
THE BRAND NEW PUMPKIN
Say hello to this old farmer.
His name is Mr. Horn.
He grows so many different plants—
Beans, tomatoes, corn.
But the farmer grows a special plant.
Each year in June he takes
A small white seed and puts it deep.
Do you know what plant it makes?
In July, the little plant pokes its nose
Up through the dirt to look around.
That small green plant soon grows into
A vine across the ground.
That vine soon pops out flowers
That soak up sun and rain and air.
Those flowers grow and grow and grow
'Til there's pumpkins everywhere!
Orange pumpkins! Green ones too!
They grow in every shape and size!
Some short, some tall, they all await
A nose and mouth and eyes.
But most of all, each pumpkin wants
To get a brand new heart.
And sure enough, when October comes,
The farmer puts them in his cart.
He cleans them off and takes his knife
And he opens up the top.
Have you seen inside a pumpkin?
It is ooey, gooey slop!
The pumpkin wants a brand new heart
'Cause his guts are yucky slime.
The farmer reaches in and scoops it out.
It's transformation time!
The pumpkin gets a brand new face,
A smile carved by Farmer Horn.
But then the thing that happens next?
It's like the pumpkin gets reborn!
Inside where all that yucky slime
Had been, the farmer puts a light—
A small, white candle shining out
And glowing in the night.
That pumpkin, he is smiling!
He's as happy as can be!
His life is new and clean and bright
For all the world to see.
That farmer knows a secret.
He is doing what God does.
Just like a pumpkin, we all are filled
With yucky slop, because...
Our hearts are filled with yucky sin.
We need someone to take our slime.
And that is just what Jesus does.
It's transformation time!
Jesus takes away our yucky sin
And gives us a bright new heart
And puts a smile upon our face.
It's a brand new life we start!
So now, let's shine for all to see
And the whole wide world can learn
That Jesus Christ can change your life.
Be a Jesus jack-o'-lantern!