{"id":532,"date":"2009-09-17T21:18:00","date_gmt":"2009-09-18T03:18:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/69.195.124.95\/~redletu4\/tomatoes-the-first-frost-and-the-christian-walk\/"},"modified":"2009-09-17T21:18:00","modified_gmt":"2009-09-18T03:18:00","slug":"tomatoes-the-first-frost-and-the-christian-walk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert\/tomatoes-the-first-frost-and-the-christian-walk\/","title":{"rendered":"Tomatoes, the first frost, and the Christian walk"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"You<\/a>Image by vinduhl<\/a> via Flickr<\/span><\/p>\n

The bite of fall is in the air. It snuck in while we weren\u2019t watching.
Suddenly the leaves in the trees are slightly off-color, the mornings are a little crisper, and the evenings a little darker.
<\/em>
It won\u2019t be long, now.
<\/em>
And then there\u2019s the tomatoes. They hang in bunches in the back yard. Their crop has been full of promise. Thick and rich with round living ornaments, the plants bow deeply, kissing the ground with heaviness.<\/p>\n

There is nothing like a smell of a tomato<\/span> plant, rushing to the end of the season. <\/p>\n

But it\u2019s too soon.<\/em><\/p>\n

The fruit<\/span> (or is it a vegetable<\/span>?) isn\u2019t ready. In fact, the pale green produce seems to be a long ways from maturity. Will they beat the coming frost? <\/p>\n

I have confidence that I\u2019ll have harvest. I\u2019ll check the forecast to see that the big chill is coming. And I\u2019ll walk outside, expecting green, and instead be surprised by the deep red of fullness. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s time.<\/em><\/p>\n

I\u2019ve been at this Christian walk for years \u2014 no, decades. And like these green tomatoes, I droop<\/span> in immaturity. I\u2019m not ready for Christ to come. I\u2019m not ready to go home. I still need a few more days \u2014 or weeks \u2014 or years.<\/p>\n

While I wait for the day of His appearing to come, I need some maturity. I just want to be ready.
How about you? Comment here. <\/a><\/p>\n

To subscribe (no spam) to all future issues of Red Letter Believers, <\/span><\/em>click here<\/span><\/em><\/a>.<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

\n\"Reblog<\/a>\n

<\/p><\/span>\n<\/div>\n\n

Thanks to my friend Wim for inspiration for this! May your crop be full!<\/span><\/em><\/p>\n

Please, share with a friend if you feel moved.
\nRead all past issues at http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/davidrupert<\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Image by vinduhl via Flickr The bite of fall is in the air. It snuck in while we weren\u2019t watching.Suddenly the leaves in the trees are slightly off-color, the mornings are a little crisper, and the evenings a little darker.It won\u2019t be long, now.And then there\u2019s the tomatoes. They hang in bunches in the back […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2375,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[534,897],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-532","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-maturity","category-tomato"],"yoast_head":"\nTomatoes, the first frost, and the Christian walk<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Image by vinduhl via Flickr The bite of fall is in the air. 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