Rhubarb Fenced or Forbidden Fruit

There truly are some do not's in life that we really should pay attention to; like do not slide down the basement door, do not drink perfume, and do not pick the rhubarb on the other side of the fence.

At nine years old I was learning a bit about independence, which included testing the don'ts:

The outside basement door was at a 40 degree angle and had to be lifted up in order to enter the basement. I sure had no desire to go down there, but the instruction not to slide down the door prompted the question, "Why not?" Asking would have been considered "talking back," so I decided to experiment and figure it out myself. When no one was around, I tried it out. First, it wasn't slick enough to slide down... you had to, kind of, scoot down. Not really much fun- especially when you end up with a large splinter in your posterior you can't tell anyone about. (I still have the scar to remind me.)

Don't drink perfume- especially the expensive, smelly stuff from Europe- because your mother's nose will sniff you out! (I have no idea why I drank it, but it's alcohol content did not affect me so it probably wasn't much.)

The rhubarb belonged to our backyard neighbor, who hated children; it was turning a beautiful rosy red- so tempting! I had never heard of, nor tasted, rhubarb so I enlisted my brother to try it with me. After all, we would need a lookout. I'm not sure which one of us slipped under the fence to break off a stalk, but I remember that it wasn't easy to pick. Oh, and we didn't know that rhubarb needs to be cooked.. I learned to spit that day! Now, I love baking a strawberry rhubarb custard pie each spring while I chuckle about the old adage that stolen fruit always tastes better. NOT!

I did learn that "do nots" are best listened to when you are a child; and they don't go away when you grow up either. Like in the game of Monopoly, you may have to pass GO and go directly to jail for breaking the rules. As a grown-up, I appreciate that my parents taught me right from wrong. As a parent and grandparent, I have rules also, but I try to explain the reasons for each one in the hope that splinters and bad tasting fruit are not the result.

I want my life to be a "sweet savour" to my Heavenly Father: "Live a life filled with love for others, following the example of Christ, who loved you and gave himself as a sacrifice to take away your sins. And God was pleased, because that sacrifice was like sweet perfume to him." (Ephesians 5:2 NLT)

Selah-

Shalom, Connie

P.S. Stop on by for a slice of rhubarb pie!