WALNUTS

PRACTICE: List an area of your life that does not flow well – one that you might describe as crushing.

I have never met a nut that I didn’t like. Thank God I am not allergic to them. Since I like them so much, it is good that they are good for me especially walnuts. Did you know that a walnut is not a true botanical nut? It the single seed of a fruit (like the seed/kernel of a peach). After the fruit fully ripens (when the outer husk becomes brittle and can be removed), the walnut shell hardens and can be cracked to reveal the 2 halves of the kernel or meat separated by a hard partition. Did you know that walnut trees secrete chemicals into the soil that prevents flowers and vegetables from growing around them? Walnuts look like mini brains, are exceptionally nutritious, high in calories and should be consumed in moderation.

The HEART of the walnut is the part that is good for me.

I believe our hearts are inherently good. However, getting to that good sometimes is a major undertaking. We are born into families or enter relationships that sometimes make it difficult for the beautiful things of life to grow and flourish around us. We may ripen into individuals with a hard-brittle husk – sometimes we stay there – nothing in and nothing out. Sometimes we fall to the ground and the husk is brittle and dry enough to shatter. The effect of the sun and air eventually reveals a well-shaped nut beautiful to behold but the cycle ends. It is only when the walnut’s shell is cracked, the meat revealed and plucked from the shell that the good of its heart can be released. In the cracking and removal from the shell, sometimes the meat emerges as two perfect halves. Other times it is crushed into bits and pieces. To be honest, there aren’t many ways for the halves to be used – covered in chocolate, consumed whole and raw or a perfect garnish for a cake or cookie. Oh, but when the walnut is crushed, the goodness is amplified…walnut oil is an expensive culinary oil…chopped walnuts for baking, sauces and dessert, and of course the many nutritional benefits. For all the benefits to us, the walnut has little to no choice of how it is used or what it becomes. Most of the time it must be crushed in order to be beneficial.

On the other hand, I do have a choice in my destiny. I can choose to be like the walnut tree-secreting toxicity so that nothing beautiful can grow around me or become a beautiful shell. Or I can choose to be cracked, crushed, chopped and use for my greater good and the good of others. If it is to be, it is up to me.

Ephesians 2:10

PONDER THIS THOUGHT: The full expression of life is only revealed when we are willing to be crushed.