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The other morning, Sophia, now six years old, asked if she could have a banana.

I handed her one and we sat down to read. She wanted to peel it herself.

“Your bananas are sweet, Mimi. Delicious”.

Glad she was enjoying it, I continued reading. A few bites later, she shuddered and said, “Ugh”. When asked what was wrong, she replied, “The strings, Mimi. The strings are disgusting. I hate the strings.”

Replying that I did as well, I told her not to eat them but instead to peel the strings off and put them on the napkin. Then she shared this insight ….

“It’s part of the banana, Mimi. Don’t you know that to eat the whole banana, you have to eat the good and the bad? So after my first bite, I eat all the strings and then I only have the good banana left.”

As I peeled my banana this morning, the conversation flooded my thoughts.

It is so easy to praise God, to be thankful even, when everything is going well in life. It gets even easier when, not only is everything going well, but when good things seem to be coming our way. We can thank Him, praise Him, and worship Him with ease as it all comes easily.

But on those days, those “string” days …. when life seems a little bitter, not quite what you were hoping for, then gratitude and worship come slightly with more difficulty.

It is then, for the second time this week, my thoughts turn to Job ….

Job, who loses everything, and his first response?

Job stood up and tore his robe in grief. Then he shaved his head and fell to the ground in worship. He said, “I came naked from my mother’s womb, and I will be naked when I leave. The Lord gave me what I had, and the Lord has taken it away. Praise be the name of the Lord!” (Job 1:20-22, NLT)

Job did not blame God. He did not blame people. First response was praise. Amazing. As his own wife told him to curse God, give up and die …

But Job replied, “You talk like a foolish woman. Should we accept only good things from the hand of God and never anything bad?” (Job 2:10, NLT)

Job knew. He had learned well that all things come from God. It all has meaning and purpose. It is all deserving of our praise – the good, the bad, and yes, even the ugly. Easy? No! Yet God is still deserving of our praise not for the circumstances, but for His very Presence being with us through it all.

It is no wonder Job was able to say …

I had only heard about you before, but now I have seen you with my own eyes. (Job 42:5, NLT)

There are lessons to be learned from the strings of a banana.

There are lessons to be learned from it all.

Today I am joining with these wonderful blogs … Thought Provoking Thurs. and Thankful Thurs. and Tell His Story and Thurs. Favorite Things and Thrive at Home and Quitting Thurs. and Thriving Thurs. and Coffee for Your Heart .