Pineapples are interesting things. And, while you may know some things, I'm sure there will be some new bits of information.
Pineapples are not, strictly speaking, a fruit. Rather it is 100-200 fruitlets all fused together!
Once harvested, pineapples do not continue to ripen.
Unripe pineapples don’t just taste vile, but can actually be quite poisonous. Eating it causes serious throat irritation and it has a strong laxative effect.
Pineapples are a storehouse of several health benefits due to its wealth of nutrients, vitamins, and minerals. This includes potassium, copper, manganese, calcium, magnesium, vitamin C, beta-carotene, thiamin, vitamin B6, and folate, and bromelain, as well as soluble and insoluble fibre.
Bromelain, listed above, has shown to be an effective anti-inflammatory, muscle relaxant, and digestive aid, and it also includes chemicals that interfere with the growth of tumour cells, making pineapple a good food to prevent cancer.
One pineapple plant produces only one pineapple every 2 years?
Are you on the edge of your seat as you read about pineapples? Or do you feel like SpongeBob SquarePants?
Hold on just a moment longer. I'm getting to the point I want to make.
6. It can take up to three years for a single pineapple to reach maturation.
There are many more fascinating facts about pineapples. Absolutely scintillating information, despite SpongeBob's stinky attitude. :-) But this the one that I want to emphasize.
In 2011 Christine McCallum, 60, of Bakewell, Australia grew a giant pineapple, measuring 32 centimetres long and weighing 8.28 kilograms. This set the new world record for the heaviest pineapple, according to World Record Academy.
The monster fruit took two and a half years to grow to this size. Christine used nothing but water to feed it. She just left it to keep on growing.
The reality is that you and I may never in our lifetimes hold a fully matured, a fully developed pineapple!
Not all pineapples will continue to grow to this size, but they will all grow much bigger if we do not harvest them so soon. The average pineapple you can buy will weigh about 1,1kg. A big one 3kg.
My question to you is this:
What is that thing in your life for which you are in too much of a hurry? What would be bigger or better if you were just a little more patient?
Patience is not something of which our generation has a lot. Nor is it an ability that we have developed into something strong. As a result, many other things do not develop to its full potential. Here are a couple of examples.
Children.
Nowadays they lose their innocence way too early through pressure at school (higher grades) and exposure on TV (violence and sex). The period where they can play and just be kids is becoming shorter and shorter.Friendships.
There is nothing that compares to the kind of understanding and connection that comes from having someone in your life that was there with you 20 years ago. You do not have to tell them. They know. Friendship will become more over time than it can ever be after a week or a month or a year.Solutions.
The best solution for a challenge is often not the one you think of or try first. But we often jump in feet first at the first inkling of an idea, ending up with a face-in-hands situation.Careers. I understand that we constantly need to re-invent ourselves skills-wise today. I'm doing that here. But I miss the security of knowing this person has done this job for the last 20 years. He has done it well for all that time and I can trust his advice or delivery. Sometimes we change jobs just a little too often.
Relationships
We all know this story. And I think we need a little more of this.
A reporter asked the couple, “How did you manage to stay together for 65 years?” The woman replied, “We were born in a time when if something was broken we would fix it, not throw it away.
But lastly and most importantly.
We are often in too much of a hurry in our relationship with God. He is showing a great lack of interest in adapting to our fast-paced world and quick-fix mentality in a time of instant everything. And we will often have to wait upon Him. However, it will be to our benefit to adapt. I'll let the Bible speak here.
I wait quietly before God, for my victory comes from Him.
(Psa 62:1 NLT)
God, the one and only-- I'll wait as long as he says. Everything I need comes from him, so why not?
(Psa 62:1 MSG)
But those who wait upon GOD get fresh strength. They spread their wings and soar like eagles, they run and don't get tired, they walk and don't get left behind.
(Isa 40:31 MSG)
Patience, dear friend, may be all you need in your situation. If it is, I pray that you will see it and wait it out.
Please share with us any insights you have in this regard.
