"I was disappointed on one thing, too," Jason added. "I wish Mike didn't have to come. He's just a trouble maker at school and from last night, it looks like he isn't any different in a church building."
Mr. Jensen didn't respond immediately. Then he said, "No, I don't suppose a church building ever made any permanent changes in a person's conduct. So what do you think would change him?"
#35- Bad Bananas
A Character story about love.
It was Wednesday morning and the twins bounced into the kitchen for breakfast. After prayer, Mr. Jensen asked, "I didn't have a chance to ask you two last night how you enjoyed your first AWANA meeting."
"It was neat," Jason remarked, picking up his banana to cut into his cereal. "I really liked . . . oh, yuk, Mom. How come you gave me the banana with the big black spot on it?"
"Don't complain, Son," his mom responded. "It's perfectly good inside."
"Can't I have a different one? I might get blood poisoning on rotten food or something."
"Oh, brothers," Julie sneered. "Here, I'll eat it. I don't mind if it's a little ripe."
"Fine with me. But it's more than just a little ripe if you ask me."
Mr. Jensen smiled at Julie. "Thank you, Sissy, for being willing to trade and make peace."
"That's O.K. Look," she remarked, pulling the peeling past the black section, "it's just like Mom said. It's perfectly good on the inside."
"Huh." Jason responded, a little surprised. "Sure could have fooled me."
"Now getting back to my question, what did you enjoy about the AWANA at the church last night, Jason?"
"Oh, the games and stuff. And the speaker was really interesting in Counsel time!"
"Nice try at brownie points," Mr. Jensen chuckled. "But what did you like about my message?"
"I liked it because you used pictures, and it was on our level," Julie inserted.
"Yeah, me too," Jason mumbled through a mouth full of Fruit Loops. "And I think I can earn all those awards if I keep at it."
"I was just disappointed in one thing," Julie admitted. "I thought I could get a uniform right away. Now I find out that I have to learn a whole bunch of stuff before I can even buy it."
"That will just make it that much more special to have one," Mrs. Jensen commented.
"Yeah, I suppose that's true."
"I was disappointed on one thing, too," Jason added. "I wish Mike didn't have to come. He's just a trouble maker at school and from last night, it looks like he isn't any different in a church building."
Mr. Jensen didn't respond immediately. Then he said, "No, I don't suppose a church building ever made any permanent changes in a person's conduct. So what do you think would change him?"
"I'm sure if he got saved, that would make a difference. But he doesn't even seem to be interested."
"Let me ask you this, Jason. What did you do last evening to make Mike feel welcome at the club?"
"Well, . . . uh . . . I said 'hi' to him."
"That's good. Anything else?" When Jason didn't answer, Mr. Jensen said, "Son, what do you suppose makes Mike behave the way he does? Do you think if you knew more about his family life, you might understand why Mike behaves as he does? And maybe if you reached out to him to try to understand and love him, you'd find he wasn't such a bad banana after all."
Mrs. Jensen chuckled. "You know, Dear, I was thinking the very same thing."
"Thinking what?" Jason asked his mom.
"About the banana. When you started breakfast, you decided from the outward appearance of that banana that it wasn't fit to eat. Julie proved you were wrong."
"Right," Mr. Jensen added. "And if we do that with people- judge what they are really like by conduct we don't understand- we can very likely misjudge them as well."
"I see what you mean. But what do you think I can do to help him?"
"We are short of workers in the Pioneers," Mr. Jensen said. "When you finish saying your sections in handbook time, why don't you offer to help Mike learn his?"
"You might even invite him over Tuesday after school to work on the memory work before club," Mrs. Jensen added. "He could eat supper and you would probably have a hour or more to help him. And an added benefit from this is that you learn them better yourself."
"And you could say something that would make him feel you're glad he came," Julie suggested.
"Good," Mr. Jensen said. "We need to work extra hard at that, especially with any of the clubbers who don't attend church regularly."
Jason glanced at his watch. "Boy! I'd better get going. Thanks everyone, for your help. I do want to see Mike accept the Lord. And it would be great if he could see the love of the Lord in me. I know you're right." Jason got a twinkle in his eye. "Uh . . . like you said, . . uh . . . a banana may look bad on the outside, but when you eat it, you may find the taste appealing."
"Oooo," everyone groaned at his corny joke, and then laughed.
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Bonus SCIENCE FACTS:
*There are over 100 different breeds of pet dogs.
*rattlesnakes do not lay eggs. They give birth to their living young.
*The human stomach can hold about 2 quarts and is completely replaced every 6 days!
*If a cow smells garlic, her milk with taste like garlic.
*There are 47 different types of headaches.
*It takes three hours for a frozen sandwich to thaw at room temperature.
Bonus Science Quiz:
1) volcanic ash has been known to remain hot for a) a week b) a month c) a year d) 100 years.
2) How many "baby teeth" does a baby have? a) 4 b) 10 c) 20 d)32 e) none
3) Whose brain weighs more, a man's or a woman's?
4) a tomato plant takes how much water from the soil during its growing period? a) a quart b) a gallon c) ten gallons d) over 20 gallons.
(Don't peek)
ANSWERS: 1) d 2) c 3) man's [49 ounces average; women 44 ounces average] 4) d [about 30 gallons!]