If you know me personally, then you know that I have this semi-unhealthy
fascination with gardening. I think that having a home garden is not only a
great way to know how your food is grown, but also a great way to appreciate
farmers. I love the fact that I can eat fresh produce and say, “I grew that, no
big deal.” So when we went down to my fiancés grandparents farm the other
weekend I had to talk garden with
them.
We walked out into their garden in the paint peeling heat of
the Texas mid day sun. The only shade was produced for the veggies by their
leaves. There were about a dozen rows of crops ranging from okra to black
berries. In a true farmer spirit my fiancés 71 year old grandmother walks over
to tend to her juicy red tomatoes. We stroll up beside her and marvel at the
crops that have come in. Her grandma grabs a tomato from the vine, inspects it,
and then scoffs, “it’s rotten.” This
didn’t make any sense however, because the tomato was firm and bright red on
the outside. “I promise you that this tomato may look pretty on the outside,
but it’s rotten on the inside.” her grandmother reiterated. The first thing
that I learned on this trip was always trust a farmer when it comes to produce;
that tomato was a rotten paste on the inside. The second thing I learned was
that some beautiful looking tomatoes are actually rotten on the inside.
Sometimes when we go to the gym we see these “buff” or “beautiful”
people working out. In these instances it’s not hard to make their physique and
appearance our aspiration. However, what I’ve found is that many of these
bright red tomatoes are rotten on the inside; they so often suffer from
multiple sins that chase them every day. Many times they have poor overall health
and body mechanics; they sacrifice inner health for outer beauty. More tragic is
their battle with insecurity and sin. I have had many friends who spent hours
in front of a mirror and hundreds of dollars at a supplement shop just so they
could feel worthy. Well, I have some fantastic news for anyone who struggles
with this. Jesus Christ believes that you are worthy, and Jesus doesn’t care
how big your biceps are or how small your waist is; He only cares if you are healthy and ministering to
others. Remember how fitness is not abouthow you look, but rather about performance and longevity of your ability topreach. In many instances we are beautiful red tomatoes with juicy firm
insides, but we just want to be like those other more red tomatoes. However, we
cannot see that these assumed perfect tomatoes are rotten on the inside. So
please never sell yourself short, and continue to Endu.
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