WHAT DOES AN UGLY RIPE TOMATO HAVE TO DO WITH MARRIAGE?

FUN FRIDAY!

One tomato, two tomato, three tomato, four, five potato, six potato, seven tater, o'er. That's right. It's potato, not tomato. But I want to talk about tomatoes today.

Pictured on my kitchen counter, above, is an ugly ripe tomato. Pictured on my ebony Yamaha piano is an ugly ripe tomato. Pictured on my family room mantle is an ugly ripe tomato. Pictured on my kitchen table in a sandwich is an
ugly ripe tomato. It is not a vine ripe tomato. It is not a hot house tomato. It is not a cherry tomato. It is not a plum tomato. It is not an heirloom tomato.
It is not a beefsteak tomato. It is an ugly ripe tomato.

An ugly ripe tomato isn't as easy to put in a salad as a cherry tomato. You just wash cherry tomatoes and throw them in with the lettuce, and viola, you have salad. An ugly ripe tomato isn't as cheap as a plum tomato. An ugly ripe tomato isn't as pretty as a vine ripe tomato--that one comes in a cluster on a little green stem with lots of green leaves. An ugly ripe tomato isn't as large as a beefsteak tomato. An ugly ripe tomato isn't organic like a hot house tomato.

But it tastes soooooo good, better than all of those I've named. It actually has a taste, unlike some of those I've named. It's delicious, in fact. It adds a great deal to a sandwich. Without it, the sandwich would be lacking.

What does an ugly ripe tomato have to do with marriage?

I'm glad you asked.

Sometimes in marriage, your mate doesn't look as good as other people's mates. Your mate might not be as talented as other people's mates. Your mate might not be as __________ (you fill in the blank) as other people's mates.

But your mate is yours, and there are advantages to being with your mate. You need to look at the good things your mate does not what s/he doesn't. Love covers a multitude of "sins," the Bible says, and this verse can apply to this.

Another way to take this would be for people looking for mates. Sometimes, people look for a beautiful or handsome mate. They look for a talented or charming mate. They look for a ________________ (you fill in the blank). But what they need to do is look beyond the outward appearance...

...just like I do when I'm choosing my tomatoes.

I'm telling ya. An ugly ripe tomato is ugly...but it's sooooo delicious!

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I have a great sense of fun and, well, quirk. That's the reason for the various poses of my ugly ripe tomato, which by the way, has been eaten!