going bananas

I was thinking about banana skins the other day.  I think it's great that the banana skin gives you time to change your mind about eating a banana.  You might even put one in your lunch bag and take it to work only to have second thoughts about eating the banana.  No problem...you can leave it on a shelf or in the bag for a few more days and still eat the fruit.  I did a little research on bananas and found that the flavor of tree-ripened bananas is far superior to the ones that ripen after being picked.  The only problem is that once a banana ripens naturally it only has a shelf life of about one week.  So to make bananas commercially viable they have to pick them early, keep them around 60 degrees while being shipped from faraway tropical sources and let them turn yellow once they are stacked in the produce section.  Interestingly, bananas that ripen on the vine don't turn yellow, they go from greenish to brownish.  You could go your whole life thinking that bananas were only so-so as a fruit because you never really tasted what a banana should taste like.  Sometimes I think that we allow ourselves to be "shipped out" for service before we ripen naturally.  We try to serve the Lord, with good intentions, but the effect doesn't seem to have the right richness or color.  I suppose we need to stay on the vine until the Master Gardener determines we're ready for distribution and consumption.  We also wear a skin to protect our tender core and to extend our usefulness for just the right length of time...not just a physical skin but the spiritual one that protects us like a shield from many problems.   (And here is one more important function of the banana, even after the fruit is eaten)   Psalm 37: 14-15 (The Message Version)     Bullies brandish their swords,       pull back on their bows with a flourish.    They're out to beat up on the harmless,       or mug that nice man out walking his dog.    A banana peel lands them flat on their faces—       slapstick figures in a moral circus.   blessings, Rob Smith http://2daysthought.blogspot.com