There weren’t any in the produce section; various random racks around the big grocery store were empty. In frustration, I had to conclude that, yes, they had no bananas … they had no bananas that day.
I know that folks in other parts of the world are used to food shortages, but we spoiled Americans are not. Not here, not now, not bananas, for Pete’s sake.
After we got home, my husband was reading “Popular Science” magazine, and he turned and said to me, “Hey – maybe this is the reason you couldn’t find any bananas – there’s a blight that’s wiping out all the banana plants around the world.”
“A banana blight?” I asked. “You’re kidding. It’s the 21st century – how could scientists let all the world’s bananas just die? That’s crazy.”
He then read to me more sordid details about this fungus thing that is racing around the globe and methodically killing off all the banana crops. It sounded more like an “X-Files” episode than real life, but I had witnessed the trickle-down effect myself as I wandered down the aisles of Wal-Mart in a vain search for just a few little bananas.
I began to think about life without bananas. No banana pudding, no banana bread, no banana splits, no banana cream pie. It made me want to call my Congressman … or Spiderman … or the agricultural experts at Clemson … or someone … anyone … who could maybe save the bananas. Forget the whales for awhile – nobody ever had whale on their cereal every morning – let’s save the bananas!
Prior to this, I’d never considered that one day, bananas might disappear from my life. For decades, I just routinely bought, peeled, and ate them, naively assuming that my relationship with bananas would go on forever. But now that bananas are apparently under attack and may become more difficult to find, I suddenly see the little fruit with brand new eyes.
I find myself feeling all happy inside when I go in a store and see bananas for sale. “Ah – that nasty old blight didn’t get you, did it?” I say. I buy bananas almost every time I can find them … just because I can. I savor their flavor and experience a twinge of angst knowing that each time I eat them might be … dare I say it? … the last time.
Perhaps nothing evokes more fear in our hearts than the threat of impending loss, even the loss of something as relatively frivolous as bananas. Part of the curse of living in this fallen world is the conscious or subconscious knowledge that we could, at any instant, lose our loved ones, our health, our jobs, our financial security, our very lives.
While there are certain fears that are actually good – like a fear of rattlesnakes, of eating Chinese leftovers that are two weeks old, or of seeing flashing blue lights in the rearview mirror – as Christians, we don’t have to live with a tormenting fear of loss.
While loss is painful for everyone, for believers in Jesus Christ, it’s also temporary.
We’re promised that a day is coming when there will be no more tears, no more heartache, no more loss, and I assume, no painful memories of the things we lost in this life. All will be restored – bigger, better, fuller, richer, sweeter … perfect.
If you’re there – in that place we call heaven — come look me up. I’ll slice you big ‘ole piece of banana cream pie (without calories, of course!).