Pumpkin Love

"Oh how we love pumpkin season. You did know this gourd-ish squash has its own season, right? Winter, Spring, Summer, Pumpkin.... We anxiously anticipate it every year."  ~Trader Joe's Fearless Flyer

Pumpkins just make me happy. Every fall when they make their first appearance, my soul is filled with delight.  I simply can’t get enough of them!   I love all colors, shapes, and sizes, and I feel excitement when I see them in patches and on porch steps.   They speak to me of the coming of a cool, crisp change in weather, of the upcoming holiday season, of falling leaves, spiced cider, and gathering with friends and family to feast on the warm, sweet senses of the season.

Pumpkins, whether they be holiday adornment or vital nourishment to our bodies, have all the elements of good health.  Their bright, beautiful colors are telling of the nutritional value they provide for our bodies and can be used in all kinds of skin treatments as well!  I found some really exciting information on Care2 that presents 11 ways to use a pumpkin!  Check it out!

There's an old saying:  To be a successful gardener, grow pumpkins.  With this truth, you only need one thing to produce pumpkins: seeds!  According to Wilkipedia, pumpkins are grown all around the world for a variety of reasons ranging from agricultural purposes (such as animal feed) to commercial and ornamental sales.  Of the seven continents, only Antarctica is unable to produce pumpkins.

Some interesting facts about pumpkins:

• Pumpkins are a member of the Cucurbita family which includes squash and cucumbers.
• Pumpkin flowers are edible.
• The largest pumpkin pie ever made was over five feet in diameter and weighed over 350 pounds. It used 80 pounds of cooked pumpkin, 36 pounds of sugar, 12 dozen eggs and took six hours to bake.
• In early colonial times, pumpkins were used as an ingredient for the crust of pies, not the filling.
• Pumpkins were once recommended for removing freckles and curing snake bites.
• The largest pumpkin ever grown weighed 1,140 pounds.
• The Connecticut field variety is the traditional American pumpkin.
• Pumpkins are 90 percent water.
• Eighty percent of the pumpkin supply in the United States is available in October.
• Native Americans flattened strips of pumpkins, dried them and made mats.
• Native Americans called pumpkins "isqoutm squash."
• Native Americans used pumpkin seeds for food and medicine.

Go figure, there go the Native Americans being resourceful again!  Amazing people!

Pumpkins really shine on Halloween!  Literally!  Children (as well as those who are young at heart) poke and prod at them carving scary, fun, and even thought provoking faces and messages.

People have been making jack o lanterns at Halloween for centuries. The practice originated from an Irish myth about a man nicknamed "Stingy Jack." According to the story, Stingy Jack invited the Devil to have a drink with him. True to his name, Stingy Jack didn't want to pay for his drink, so he convinced the Devil to turn himself into a coin that Jack could use to buy their drinks. Once the Devil did so, Jack decided to keep the money and put it into his pocket next to a silver cross, which prevented the Devil from changing back into his original form. Jack eventually freed the Devil, under the condition that he would not bother Jack for one year and that, should Jack die, he would not claim his soul. The next year, Jack again tricked the Devil into climbing into a tree to pick a piece of fruit. While he was up in the tree, Jack carved a sign of the cross into the tree's bark so that the Devil could not come down until the Devil promised Jack not to bother him for ten more years.

Soon after, Jack died. As the legend goes, God would not allow such an unsavory figure into heaven. The Devil, upset by the trick Jack had played on him and keeping his word not to claim his soul, would not allow Jack into hell. He sent Jack off into the dark night with only a burning coal to light his way. Jack put the coal into a carved out turnip and has been roaming the Earth with it ever since. The Irish began to refer to this ghostly figure as "Jack of the Lantern," and then, simply "Jack O'Lantern."

In Ireland and Scotland, people began to make their own versions of Jack’s lanterns by carving scary faces into turnips or potatoes and placing them into windows or near doors to frighten away Stingy Jack and other wandering evil spirits. In England, large beets are used. Immigrants from these countries brought the jack o lantern tradition with them when they came to the United States. They soon found that pumpkins, a fruit native to America, make perfect jack o lanterns.

Source of the history of Jack O Lanterns: The History Channel - http://www.historychannel.com/exhibits/halloween/pumpkin.html

The legend of the jack o lantern says that God wouldn't let such an unsavory figure such as Jack into Heaven.  It's a legend, it is fiction, but it brings to my mind God's promise that if you have accepted Christ to lead and transform your life, then nothing, not anything can keep you from the love of God.  He accepts us just as we are; unsavory, broken and downtrodden, addicted, full of sin, and transforms the broken pieces of our lives into a beautiful reflection of Him.  When the light of God's love shines through our broken pieces, it creates a beautiful masterpiece.

Don't you know God must feel about his children as I feel about pumpkins?  When He looks down and lays eyes on us, His soul fills with delight.  He loves us so much; all colors, shapes, and sizes, and feels excitement when we gather to worship.   Our faith in Him reminds Him that soon there will be a new season, a season of fellowship and love for eternity; no more sorrow, pain, or tears, only unending love and communion with friends and family where we will forever feast on the warm, sweet senses of Heaven.

"No power in the sky above or in the earth below--indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord."  Romans 8:39