May Apples

We didn’t know what these plants are so we asked our neighbor and good friend Sally. She told us that they are “May Apples”. Note the blossoms beneath the top leaves. These plants will bear fruit – fruit that Vickie plans to use to make jelly or jam. The thing is that you’ve got to wait until the fruit is ripe to use it – because prior to ripening it is toxic – toxic as in it will give you more than a tummy ache.

As I pondered the May Apple I thought of one of my “flat spots” – the tendency to speak before fully developing a thought or idea – especially if it is an idea new to me and others. Proverbs 15:23 talks about the blessing of a “word spoken in due season”. The opposite of that is a word that is out of season, a word that is either not appropriate for the occasion or which has not ripened so as to be eatable.

It’s hard when receiving new insight or illumination not to share it right away in the midst of excitement, but I know that often what I’m seeing and thinking about needs time to ferment and mature; and I know that if I’ll ruminate on things awhile that it will usually be sweeter when I do share it. I also know that some of my first impressions may be corrected if I take things slower before making a meal of my thoughts to share with others.

Seeing a blossom is not seeing the fruit, and there can be a world of difference between eating unripe and ripe fruit.