Wednesday, September 18, 2002
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Wednesday, September 18, 2002 |
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There's something very special about Mr. Miller's vineyard By JOHN HATCHER This past Saturday morning a Henry County man took his wife to the airport and on his way home at about 9 a.m., he made the decision to drop by Miller's Vineyard for a couple of baskets of the most delicious muscadines and scuppernongs in the southeast. Well, as it was, the vine keepers, Mr. And Mrs. Harold Miller, were in the vineyard picking grapes in the rain. So, the Henry County resident waited until noon when the sign said the grapes would be ready to sell. The man knew the wait was worth it. As an expert in eating our southern grapes, I can tell you that the muscadines are the best in recent years. Sweet. Plump. Juicy. Full. You cannot ask for anything better. And it's the season when peaches and plums no longer satisfy my citrus thirst. It's too early for Florida's gold orbs to satisfy. But, boy, those muscadines. But there is something else going on at Miller's Vineyard. More than just about the best locally grown fruit. Take, for instance, the price. Now, I have been "religiously" going over to buy the liquid gold drops for more than seven or eight years. Eight years ago the price was $5 a basket. Today, the price is the same. The price has not increased and the size of the basket hasn't decreased. Go figure. I figure something else is going on at Miller's Vineyard. Mr. Harold Miller, especially when wearing his farmer hat, has a certain mystic about him. Anyone who can grow as delicious grapes automatically has my admiration. Why, in my field of business, Jesus said the Father in Heaven was the keeper of the vineyard. In some way, I suppose, a man who grows grapes is like our Father in Heaven. Maybe Mr. Miller is a father figure here in Fayette. You need to try him out. If too many customers aren't competing for his attention, you just might get his total attention. If so, you're in for some mighty good counsel and some wise evaluation of the state of the world. I guess that when one spends hours upon hours in the vineyard, pruning, tending, and picking, one has time to think about important issues in the world today. Maybe that's where Mr. Miller gets his wisdom in the vineyard. He's Godly but not religious. He's kind but not sticky sweet. He's got some things pretty clear in his own mind, but is willing to listen to your slant on things. There have been times that I have gone over to Mr. Miller's for scuppernongs and came away encouraged in the work that God has given me to do through the local church. Times have been when Mr. Miller cut to the chase and told it like it really is: on church leadership, raising and discipling kids, and America's current challenge. Do you hear me saying that you can get a lot more at Miller's Vineyard than just about the best muscadines in the southeast? That's what I am saying. Perhaps that's why the price has remained at $5 a basket for years. Perhaps for Mr. Miller it is not about the money (that's a switch for Fayette County, isn't it?). Perhaps it's about people and their needs. Mr. Miller, as I see, does more ministry at the vineyard than many of ministers all put together on Sunday morning. Keep it up, Mr. Miller. In the day and age when everybody wears the same designer clothes and we all look alike, it's refreshing to run up against a brilliant mind wearing overalls and selling grapes as an excuse to help people along the way. The Rev.
Dr. John Hatcher is pastor of |
