I have had a fascination with pomegranates ever since my first grade class studied them. It was a very special study. My wee classmates and I got to get out of our tiny melamine-topped, paste-scented desks and go to a BIG table at the back of the room, where we were actually encouraged to speak out loud about our observations of the beautifully strange, bumpy sphere before us. Our diminutive white-haired teacher and our frizzy-haired hippie student teacher didn’t tell us its name until after this very scientific process was completed. Keep in mind that this was 1971 in northwestern Oklahoma, and Eastern/Mediterranean fruit (unlike horehound candy) was not readily available at the corner grocery. They recorded our keen observations and comments, and published them in little booklets, via the wondrous purple-inked ditto machine. My insightful contribution? “The yellow part tastes like hairspray!” I find it a little ironic that one of my closest friends here in Arizona grows pomegranate trees in her backyard AND has her own hair salon. And, I’m glad to report that my appreciation for the more flavorful nuances of the pomegranate have extended beyond comparisons to beauty products. I now consider the pomegranate a product of beauty itself.

So, why is this product of beauty occupying my thoughts this morning? I, along with others from my church, am currently attempting to systematically read through the Bible in a year. It’s too early to tell how successful I will be in this endeavor. Last year I considered trying Margie Haack’s method, i.e., the Bible Reading Program for Slackers and Shirkers, but I ended up being too much of a Slacker/Shirker to even start it. (You can find the program on the Ransom Fellowship website; just enter “Bible Reading” in the key word search.)

Using my current (non-slacker) plan, I’ve made it to that part in Exodus where things begin to get a little detailed and mind-numbing – the instructions for designing the tabernacle, the garments for the priests, etc. What keeps a Slacker/Shirker motivated in such sections? You guessed it. Pomegranates!