how does anyone know?

“What is happening to me happens to all fruits that grow ripe.
It is the honey in my veins that makes my blood thicker, and my soul quieter.”
Friedrich Nietzsche

(ripening persimons on the tree / Julie Cook / 2017)

Ripe: fully grown and developed: mature ripe fruit
:having mature knowledge, understanding, or judgment

Unripe: not fully matured
2. not fully prepared or developed; not ready

How do we know when something is ripe?
Color?
Touch?
Taste?
All of the above?

Ripe equates with that which is good.
That which is pleasing.
That which is inviting.

Ripe is as good as it gets….

Unripe is bitter, hard, immature, not ready…
unripe is unproductive.

If you profess to being a Christian,
how does the anyone know whether or not you are ripe and ready?

One basket had very good figs, like those that ripen early; the other basket had very bad figs, so bad they could not be eaten.

Then the Lord asked me, “What do you see, Jeremiah?”

“Figs,” I answered.
“The good ones are very good, but the bad ones are so bad they cannot be eaten.”

Then the word of the Lord came to me:
“This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says:
‘Like these good figs, I regard as good the exiles from Judah,
whom I sent away from this place to the land of the Babylonians.
My eyes will watch over them for their good, and I will bring them back to this land.
I will build them up and not tear them down;
I will plant them and not uproot them.
I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the Lord. They will be my people,
and I will be their God,
for they will return to me with all their heart.
Jeremiah 24:2-7

the continuum of New

“In joined hands there is still some token of hope, in the clinched fist none.”
― Victor Hugo

What was—
Long long ago, there in a different time, lived New
And in this New existed,
hope
dreams
imagination

It was a marvelous time–
A happy time–
For there rested within New,
innocence
wonder
joy

It was a time for—
adventures
delight
journeys

In addition, as fate would have it, within this New, there also endured
tears
sorrows
falls
bruises

as well as
pain
frustration
disbelief
and even necessary truth

All of that had to be there–toegether
as that is all a part of how New could and would grow

There was a magical as well as rocky time of growth
sometimes happy
sometimes sad
sometimes fun
sometimes hard

New emerged into–
something else
something older
something wiser
New became Grown

Yet there remained buried deep within New, which was now Grown,
wistful thoughts
desires
ambitions

Unfortunately it had become a
busy time
a frantic time
a hurried time

Hope ran toward Regret
Dreams turned into Reality
Excitement became Tired
Adventures suddenly Distant
Imagination Disappeared

sigh. . .

Nevertheless, when all seemed stuck in a motionless circle—
Life reappeared
Hope returned
Joy was renewed
Excitement again relished

And so it was, just as it all had begun—
Hope
Dreams
Imagination
Every last one returned,
They returned to New, who was now Grown
They were all now a part of the newest New

For as New had grown older, all that resided deep down in New had never vanished
it simply—
changed
morphed
transformed

And just as New, now Grown, had become somewhat weary as well as Cynical
A Miracle
New, now Older and Grown, gave way to another New
This was a smaller New
The same New but different
A brand new New

All the good things that were there in the first New, all came rushing back
as well as some of those troubling things—
but without the good things along with the troubling things, little New could not, would not
grow–
giving way, eventually to an entirely different New

Old New, now Grown, watched the little New grow as well
There were bumps and scrapes
laughter and tears
But New, now Grown, was now also Proud
Happy
Beaming
Satisfied
Content

And so it is with New and how it grows—
Inside of New lives–good things and bad
happy and sad
And as New grew, it witnessed the birth of the smaller New
and there, all within the latest New,
Hope
Joy
Renewal

But most importantly, New, who was grown, was now also becoming old, looked back happily over the growth of the youngest New and smiled with satisfaction feeling happily Complete.