Inside out

The kids were very excited to pick out pumpkins for carving. Logan grabbed the first pumpkin in reach and was ready to leave, Maddy pondered and dug around to find her "perfect" pumpkin. Olivia wanted the littlest pumpkin because she said that she was little. Breanna really didn't care she just wanted to the roast the seeds.


Logan was the first to open his pumpkin, it was nice and orange inside with an a lot of seeds. Next, Maddy opened her pumpkin and to her surprise it was brown, slimy and the seeds were no good. The outside of Maddy's pumpkin was fine, no bruises or bumps that would indicate the inside was bad. Olivia's little pumpkin was bright orange with just a few seeds inside. Breanna opened her pumpkin last, she had large seeds and actually pulled out 5 or so seeds that had sprouted roots and had begun to grow new plants.  Needless to say it didn't take long for the conversations to flow.


Maddy's pumpkin seemed to be "perfect" on the outside but the inside didn't reflect the outer appearance.  It allowed us the opportunity to talk about how the only way for our lives to be consistent inside and out is to acknowledge and love the one who created us. Maddy's pumpkin seeds were no good, only a vapor, they were unable to produce more fruit. Maddy was getting the picture that we were creating with the pumpkins.  She understood that like her pumpkin, people can look good on the outside and not have any hope on the inside, and then she said, "mom it's sad when good people that are doing good things may never hear or accept the hope that we have in Jesus." My heart ached at that thought as well.


When Breanna had opened her pumpkin she added to the conversation by pointing out that some of her pumpkin seeds had sprouted.  She said it's like when you accept Jesus as your savior and you start to read, pray and grow in your spiritual walk you begin to  produce spiritual "fruit"   ."... the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self control." Galatians 5:21-23. The only way to produce fruit is to know Jesus as your Savior.  Then, just like Breanna's pumpkin you will begin to produce new fruit, not because the pumpkin was trying so hard, but because it was just being a pumpkin.  When we simply abide in Jesus, He will produce the fruit within us.


Needless to say our pumpkin carving had fruitful conversations as we talked about allowing God to clean out the "yuck" on our inside. We don't have to fix or clean it out in our own strength, we can come to Jesus with our "mess" and God will lovingly restore your heart so it will produce fruit from the inside out.

Logan's pumpkin

Maddy's pumpkin

inside Maddy's pumpkin (yuck)

Breanna's sprouts inside her pumpkin