You say Toe-mate-O, I say Toe-mot-O

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.