Waiting for Fruit

Mammee apple

There's waiting, and then there's waiting past the point of being worthwhile. Last week I wrote a bit about "waiting on the Lord" and not jumping too quickly into "ministry," on my own steam, i.e. in the flesh.

Also, last week Kealani experienced eating a mammee apple that was over-ripe and which their family decided wasn't a fruit worth buying again. She reports it tasted bitter, mushy and sort of like sourdough starter? This week at the farmer's market the vendor demonstrated how to tell when the fruit is ripe and let them taste one. Needless to say, they were convinced enough to bring home a properly ripe mammee apple. We all tried it after Sunday dinner, and found it delicious, tasting like apricots. I'm saving the seed to plant.

I suppose the reasons for going beyond proper waiting in the spiritual realm can be comparable. Not knowing or recognizing the signs to proceed. If I encountered this fruit in the wild, I'd have no clue if it was edible, good or ripe. To me, it looks like an elephant turd. Or an old gourd. And, then, through inattention, laziness, fear or distraction the time to move ahead can pass us by. A favorite quote of mine from Shakespeare speaks of this:

"There is a tide in the affairs of men,
Which taken at the flood leads on to fortune;
Omitted, all the voyage of their life
Is bound in shallows and in miseries." Julius Caesar, Act IV, Scene III

A well-known and loved scripture on the subject:

"For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven ..." Ecclesiastes 3:1

Not something I always think or remember to apply appropriately. All the ruts we get into are likely of our own making. The great blessing is God's grace and mercy, that he gives us fresh opportunities.

"for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, 'The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him." Lamentations 3:22-24

There we go with the waiting again. If at first you don't succeed...