fruit

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Out Of Season? . . . Not Any More!

Getting in on something that is out of season is a real bonus, isn’t it? 

out of season? ... not any more!

Our modern harvesting, preserving and packaging technologies make it possible to enjoy many things that are out of season. 

I have half a grapefruit every morning and, though grapefruit is a summer fruit, I can enjoy them all year long … because somewhere in the world it’s summer. 

For the first part of the year the grapefruit arrive from Israel, big and juicy. In the fall, and until the new year, they come from South Africa, not as big, but with every bit of flavour. 

Years ago there were times of the year you couldn’t get certain fruits. Oranges arrived in winter, strawberries were in June, and apples came in the fall. Outside those times you really didn’t eat those fruits. In fact, there was anticipation for fruit of the season to come.

But now most fruits are available year round. 

One of my favourite fruits is the raspberry. Growing up we had a large raspberry patch in our backyard. We had so many that my mom would make a few raspberry pies every summer as well as often dish them up in a bowl for dessert.

But by August the raspberries were gone and finished for the season. We would not have them again until the next summer.

At my present home we have a raspberry patch in our backyard that never fails to produce raspberries each year … that is until they are out of season. 

And then if I want them I have to purchase them at the grocery store, usually at a premium price.

My one regret about summer vacation is that it comes around that same time our raspberries ripen. So we usually get a week of raspberries and then they die on the bushes while we are away. By the time we get back from vacation the raspberries are finished, out of season. 

Every year I’ve missed out on much of my precious fruit. 

But this year has been different.

With the summer-like weather this fall, my raspberry patch is producing again. And the great thing is I’m home and can enjoy these berries of the gods. … Apparently there is such a thing as fall producing raspberry bushes and we have some mixed into our patch in the corner of the yard. 

It’s now the end of October and I’m still eating delicious raspberries from my own backyard. I’m enjoying fresh berries even though normally they would be out of season by now. My wife has even frozen some so that I will be able to enjoy them in the middle of winter.

This year the weather has kept what is normally out of season, still flourishing. Lucky me!

Here’s the thing: We all want to enjoy the fruit that is in season. But sometimes that fruit comes at a time we don’t expect. If we are not ready, we will miss it. We don’t know when Christ is going to return, so we need to be ready for it, whether it seems like it will be in season and close at hand, or out of season and far off.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: What do you need to be ready for, even if it’s out of season? Leave your comments and questions below.

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Experiences Can Happen When We Least Expect Them

We should always be prepared for experiences that are out of season. Most of the time, it is easy to tell when things are out of season. 

experiences can happen when you least expect them

You know when you bite a Macintosh apple in the middle of July that you are having a not-in-season fruit.

In Canada apples ripen in the fall. So if you are eating apples in the summer, those apples were probably picked in October of the previous year. 

Now, with trade partners and global shipping, today we can often get fruit that might be produced in season somewhere else in the world.

Although grapefruit ripen and are picked in the summer months, I eat them right through the winter. I eat half a grapefruit every morning because, for much of the year, the grapefruits I eat come from Israel.

That’s an example of an out-of-season experience. 

But we have these experiences in other areas of life as well. 

The best sales usually come when a product is at its end or out-of-season. Whether it is clothes, BBQs or snowblowers, we look for those out-of-season sales.

When we lived in Alberta, we had a pastors’ conference every fall. In those days it was always held in Banff – a picturesque spot definitely worth seeing, but it is a tourist place. 

Summer in Banff is beautiful and an awesome place to go hiking, camping, etc. In the winter, it is a true winter wonderland with skiing, snowshoeing and shopping. Banff is as beautiful in the winter as it is in the summer. 

But there are bumper seasons in Banff. You could call them out-of-season times, when the weather is not as warm as in summer, but there is not enough snow to ski. 

That’s when we held our pastors’ conference. We could get hotel accommodations for several hundred people at a fraction of the cost of what it would be in season. 

Those conferences and experiences in Banff were simply due to the out-of-season time we met. 

This week I had some out-of-season experiences: I played hockey in July. 

I could have easily decided to go biking instead of playing hockey, but I don’t often get that out-of-season experience so I made good on it. 

And I’m sure glad I did.

There’s nothing like showing up to the rink with your equipment bag slung over your shoulder, hockey stick in hand, wearing shorts and sandals. And there’s nothing like coming out of a cold arena into the hot sun after sweating it out on the ice in about 4° Celsius.

I haven’t played hockey in the summer for many years. I just haven’t had the opportunity. So there was no way I was going to miss getting in on some out-of-season experiences this past week. 

You just have to be ready to play any time anywhere.

Here’s the thing: There is a verse in the Bible that says “be ready in season and out of season”. It is a charge to a pastor by his mentor. But we should all be ready to speak about Christ, who He is and what He’s done for us any time an opportunity presents itself. Experiences in sharing what we believe can present themselves at any time; we just need to be ready.

That’s Life!

Paul

Question: Would you say you are ready in season and out? What would it take to be ready?  Leave your comments and questions below.

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