Ever Taste a Persimmon?

Monday, November 13, 2023
My young grandson shared excitedly, “Papaw and I are going outside to pick persimmons off the trees!” 

 

Remembering the first time I met my husband’s grandfather, he offered me a persimmon. Since I had never tasted one, he picked it in front of me, right off of his tree. 
    

Politely, I took a big bite. The sour, unripe persimmon made my mouth want to pucker and my throat feel like it was closing up!  Wanting to make a good impression, I smiled and said nothing. Waiting until we were back in the car ready to leave his house, I said, “Water, I need water!”  My fiancé, at the time, burst into laughter, knowing his grandfather had played a trick on me.
    

Drinking a cup of coffee and smiling as now my grandson is going to our backyard to pick persimmons off the trees.  Knowing our trees came from seed shared by my husband’s grandfather makes it even more special.    

Growing persimmon trees from seed was a challenging project for my gardener husband.  Seeds were buried in a container of sand and placed in our refrigerator. Inconveniently, this took up a lot of space in our refrigerator!
His plan was to keep the seeds refrigerated for two to three months. 
    

Finally, the day came when I had to say something.  We were holding an Easter dinner at our house and I needed the space for the extra groceries this would require.  A fight followed by an understanding, that the bucket of sand had to go from the refrigerator. My husband was so dismayed because he wanted to wait for signs of seeds sprouting before taking them out of the refrigerator. 

Sadly, he took them to the garage. Happily, they began to warm up from the fridge and in a couple of days sprouted!  It was exactly what they needed to begin seeing growth. If I hadn’t insisted he take them outside, he may never of had persimmon trees to experience delicious persimmon pudding around Thanksgiving time.

 
People respond to the Good News of the Gospel and faith in Jesus Christ much the same way as starting seed for a persimmon tree.  Quietly, taking it all in, but not ready to show signs of change.The seed of the Gospel is sown and grows in the heart.  Becoming a Christian happens over time. From the fruit of it, righteousness is produced and new life in Christ.

 

Parable of the Sower...Mark Chapter 4 NIV
The Bible in Mark 4:19-20b says, “…but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke The Word, making it unfruitful.  Others, like seed down on good soil, hear the Word, accept it, and produce a crop”