Oh, the perfect unblemished banana…so sweet, so satisfying, so fresh…

 We know, however, that as it ages it encounters oxygen and begins to oxidize.  Proof of this is those nasty looking brown spots that begin to form and the banana begins to feel softer.   

There are a few ways to slow down this reaction but you cannot stop it entirely.

Eventually the banana will come to look like this familiar site… 

A far glimpse from its original state.  Three fourths brown now, leathery, very soft on the inside, borderline-mushy and you can begin to smell it… 

 Ever felt like the banana? 

Started out great guns, your act together, on top of your game but as time and life happen, the zeal that you once felt has eroded, the worries of this world have mounted and now all you feel is bruised, aging and non-valuable…

I had a pile of over ripened bananas on my cabinet last week.  I stared at them for a few days wondering if they would be eaten by my son or husband.  At day 3, I realized that no one wanted them and I had a decision to make.  Their usefulness as a snack had long diminished, so I needed to decide to…

 or combine them with…

 and make… Banana Bread!!!

You know, you can’t make banana bread that’s worth anything using unblemished bananas, they are not sweet enough to shine through.  And if you have ever tried, it is very hard to find a grocer that will carry them in their brown state.  It really just takes time and exposure to the elements of life that make the banana sweeten and sweeten and sweeten until it becomes the star and really shines through!  That one simple, rotten looking ingredient transforms boring sweet bread into bananany heaven!  

Remember back to the unblemished banana.  As it ages and essentially appears rotten, something beautiful is happening on the inside…it is developing and forming a new purpose. 

It is transforming from snack to feast!!

At my house, no one gets excited when I say, “Fresh bananas!”  But you should see them come running when I yell, “Banana bread!”  Conversely, after a long workout, I’d much rather have a fresh banana than banana bread. 

It is all about purpose…all about timing.  All about His transformation in our lives.

Be excited wherever you are. 

 Be satisfied with who you are. 

 Be confident that wherever that is, you have purpose and value. 

Do not be deceived.  What is on the outside is deceiving.  Don’t throw yourself or anyone else away thinking they are rotten.  With a little perspective change one can understand one’s value at any given point in life. Through Jesus Christ the NONvaluable to the world shines as INvaluable to Him and His kingdom! 

Be inwardly renewed with fresh hope today.  Take up your righteousness, peace and joy.  He died to give it to you!  You are destined, you have great purpose, and you always have hope in Jesus! You are an overcomer by nature, even if the tools to overcome your specific battle have not appeared to your eyes quite yet.  Rest assured they are already ever-present to your spirit,  and through the Holy Spirit He will illuminate them each step of your way. 

Remember, we walk by faith, not by sight and He Has overcome the world!!  

Love you friends and keep your mind focused on Him today no matter what is going on around you!!  You are dearly loved!

“Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart.  Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.  And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing.  The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.  For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.  For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ.  But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.  We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair;  persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.  We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.  For we who are alive are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that his life may be revealed in our mortal body.  So then, death is at work in us, but life is at work in you.  It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.” With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak,  because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence.  All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.  Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.  For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.  So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.”

2 Corinthians 4