Going bananas

I'm back in the kitchen.

We've been doing a lot of traveling and going on summertime adventures; as a result I haven't been cooking very often.  (Eating - yes, cooking - not so much.)  I promised my husband fresh cherry hand-pies last week and alas, I did not have enough unspoiled cherries to make him some.  So this week when I noticed the bananas starting to turn on my counter, I made a pledge to myself: banana bread.  (Check out the recipe here; I simply swap the regular flour for gluten-free to make it friendly for my man.)  Let me tell you, my house thanked me for the amazing smells wafting from my kitchen.

Very overripe bananas.
Vanilla.
Fresh blueberries.
Cinnamon.

Need I say more????

Trying to increase my rest time and lower my stress (doctor's orders) has given me an inordinate amount of time to think about my life and who I am.  And to some extent, I am not satisfied.

Sometimes I feel like the bananas I baked with today.  From the outside, they look terrible with their dark spots and shriveling skin.  And I am not happy with what I see on the outside right now.  (Why is it that I'm comparing myself to fruit lately?  See my previous post about avocados.)  But ugly, overripe bananas make the best banana bread.  If you don't believe me, try it.  They get sweeter and sweeter the longer they sit on your countertop or hang on one of those fancy banana hooks.  So as I think about how tasty those bananas are on the inside when they look so gross on the outside, I have to do the same with myself.  When I don't like what I see in all the pictures I've been taking of my adventures, I'm reminded to consider the inside of me rather than the outside.  What's happening there?   Is my heart soft and moldable like an overripe banana?  Do I have the sweetness of spirit that I should?  Am I becoming the woman I was made to be?

I don't have answers yet.  I guess today's ramblings are merely reflective.  You know, sometimes we have to give ourselves space and permission to do that - to stop, rest, and ponder.  I can hear you saying, "I don't have time for that!"  Make time.  I'm not talking about a nap (although you might need that).   Rest doesn't always mean sleep!  Rest means being still...listening...breathing.  I'm in the middle of my refresher course on what it means to be still; it seems God helps me relearn that every so often.  So if busy-ness has gotten in your way today, consider this your "permission slip" to breathe...to think...to pray...to find rest.  And as always, you are invited to comment and share.