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Harvesting and Scheduling…?

I was talking with my long-time friend Carol about the work of preserving food from our gardens. We both love fresh vegetables, I mean what is better than a vine ripened tomato sandwich?! Each of our husbands have worked hard in their gardens and we certainly want to honor their efforts by preserving as much food as possible.

Yet, you can’t schedule when the harvest is ripe and ready to gather. Once it is picked, it must be canned, frozen, shared, and/or eaten before it spoils. That means we wash green beans, snap, prepare jars and begin the canning process no matter what else we may have on our “schedules”.

Carol and I were discussing the reality of dropping everything WE had planned to do so that we could process the fruits of our husbands’ labor. I must admit that my attitude is somewhat different this year because last year I put up very little from our garden. Between ground hogs, racoons, lack of rain, and travel, our garden suffered. This year the harvest has been plentiful! We have been able to share fresh vegetables with family and friends and I have –

  • canned beans
  • frozen tomatoes for winter soup
  • made tomato sauce
  • prepared squash and onions to freeze for cassoroles and soup
  • made dill pickles (Phil made bread and butter pickles)
  • made raspberry jam (thank you Carol for the lesson)
  • frozen blueberries for winter desserts

So our “schedule” goes out the window to do what must be done. Fresh vegetables and fruit don’t wait.

As Carol said – you do what you have to do.

Isn’t this true of all aspects of our lives? We plan with good intentions but “life happens”. Loved ones become ill. Grandchildren need our care. We worship and fellowship. We volunteer and serve others. We attend family events and sport activities. All the while tending to the tasks of everyday life. We plan so we can accommodate all these parts of our lives.

James, the elder disciple and apostle of Jesus wrote in James 4:13-15 –

13 Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” 14 Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. 15 Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.”

Our attitude must be one of seeking God’s will and accepting the circumstances and changes in our lives with grace. James is not saying that we shouldn’t plan ahead. He says “we will live and do this or that” yet “If it is the Lord’s will.” Recognizing that all those fresh vegetables are a BLESSING – not just more work.

That requires an adjustment to my attitude. Plan ahead, but see life’s everyday occurrences as opportunities to accept God’s will. Elizabeth Elliot said “In acceptance lays peace.”

Lord, may I recognize that my days – and schedule – are in your hands. Not my will but yours be done.

Amen

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Making Space

A friend, Janet Asbury, shared at church Sunday that God was convicting her of “making space”. She shared that this phrase is currently being used in our culture to denote the importance of being intentional in our every day lives. Making space for the really important things. In the hustle and bustle of all we fill our lives with – are we setting aside QUALITY time with God, or squeezing in a moment here and there when we “can”? Are we making space for God, our Father, creator of the universe? Is that space a priority or an afterthought?

That certainly convicted me! I just wrote a blog on June 1,2023 entitled “Cut It Out” about the need to cut out things in our lives that crowd out the really important things. (see the link below)

Cut it Out

Yet what Janet shared caused me to think about the difference between cutting something out and making space for something.

I can cut out plants in my garden that I no longer want in that space. I can dig them up and throw them over the bank, or plant them somewhere else. The issue becomes – what do I do with that space? If I just leave that space it will soon be filled again with weeds or another plant I may not want there. I must either mulch that space well so weeds can’t grow or plant a smaller, less invasive species. Otherwise I will soon have an overcrowded garden again. Back to the old same-old same-old!

This is true in our lives. We may cut out things we realize are not productive – but what do with that “space” that we created? If we are not intentional about filling that space, the same behavior and habits will return right back to where they were in our lives. This time they may be harder to root out.

I have a beautiful butterfly weed plant that my father planted. Not only did he love the bright orange color, but he enjoyed watching the butterflies the blooms attracted. Last year it was very small and on closer observation I realized it was overcrowded by a nearby azalea and a groundcover. The azalea is beautiful in the spring, but cutting it back would not harm it and it would create space for the butterfly weed to grow. The ground cover was another story. It was invasive and just taking over.

So – one plant I cut back.

One plant I completely pulled up and threw over the bank.

Did that solve the problem once and for all? NO

I go back frequently and pull up weeds and that old ground cover to make space for the butterfly weed. It is not a “once and for all time” deal. Making space is an ongoing effort if I want to effect lasting change.

The disciple and apostle Peter describes the effort we must make spiritually to possess and maintain the qualities we want as a follower of Jesus. 2 Peter 1:3-8 says

3 His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4 Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature, having escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

5 For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6 and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7 and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. 8 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

I will grow spiritually as I intentionally make space for these qualities.

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First Fruits

Phil and I picked the first run of beans from our garden Monday, snapped them, and then I canned 14 quarts. The first run of beans are always so pretty! Not a blemish, spot, or bad place on these beans. There is a feeling of satisfaction when the jars all seal and you see the fruits of your labor.

Yet there is always a realization that the “first fruit” or result of the garden is not just dependent on our work. There are many things that are outside our control when gardening. I was reminded of this as I canned the beans this week. Last year I did not can ANY beans – nary-a-one! I believe Phil planted beans 3 times and each time those first tender leaves appeared, groundhogs ate EVERY leaf. Needless to say we had no beans. Phil worked hard to eradicate the pests, but to no avail. The critters did not bother our squash, tomatoes, cucumbers, or lettuce. Just the beans. (something did munch on my lovely pumpkins last year just before I was going to gather them)

This year we have seen no pests so far. We have no idea why but we are so thankful!

God is honored when we recognize him as the source of all we have. We may plant the seeds, water them, and gather the harvest – yet who created the seed, the water to sprout the seed, and the soil to nurture the growth? We partner with the God of creation when we garden.

Proverbs 3:9-10 refers to first fruit.

9 Honor the Lord with your wealth,
with the first fruits of all your crops;
10 then your barns will be filled to overflowing,
and your vats will brim over with new wine.

It is a blessing to have vegetables and fruit to gather, put up for later use, and the ability to share some with others. Some years we have had an abundance of produce, some years, not so much. Sometimes we have been on the receiving end of vegetables and fruit from others’ gardens.

For me the message of this passage in Proverbs is to cultivate an attitude of humility. To acknowledge God as the source of our harvest and the results of our labor whether it is from the garden, our work place. or our homes. Humility also means that I acknowledge the responsibility to offer what I have to others as the “first fruits” that belong to God the creator. The first fruits should be from the best I have, not the “leftovers” or what I no longer want.

God deserves my best.