Are you a mushy brown Banana?

Mushy, brown bananas... what are they for? Yucky, gross, throw them away! No, they are just perfect. How can rotten fruit be perfect, it's not good for anything! They might not look perfect on the outside but mushy brown banana's are perfect for baking banana bread! In so many ways our lives may be like those mushy brown banana's, full of bruises, spotted with mistakes from the past, discolored from hurts and pains of life and yet the Almighty Baker can make something wonderfully beautiful from those mushy brown banana's, all we have to do is let Him peel back the layers!

I know it's not the most perfect metaphor, but it's what crossed my mind today as I was baking with my son. As I thought about it, it made me smile - I sound like my Grandpa! That may sound strange to some of you, but you see my Grandpa has this way of taking things from his ordinary life as a carpenter and seeing it in another light. I remember how at one family reunion he shared about an experience where he was imagining what his carpenter pencil would say if it talked. No, he's not crazy :) I don't remember the whole story but I believe it was something about making marks on other people's lives and how important each mark is to the whole project or structure. Thinking more about it this afternoon, I have to say how glad I am to have such a wonderful Grandpa, he has worked hard to create a wonderful legacy of love, especially love of the Father. He is never afraid to say something, even if it may be hard to hear, or if he has to fight through his emotions, if God has laid something on his heart - he shares. I know that both my Grandma and Grandpa pray for their kids and grandkids everyday - what an excellent example you have set! I will try my very hardest to keep that legacy going!