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Verse:“Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? … “… If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you —you of little faith?” —Matthew 6:26, 30, NIV
Right around Thanksgiving Day (late November in the United States) each year, seed catalogs start appearing in my mailbox.
They contain beautiful photographs of scrumptious-looking fruits and vegetables and colorful flowers. The sight of them fills me with hope and longing for warmer days. As they pile up on my kitchen island, I start visualizing the garden.
What will I plant where? What new crop will I try this year? The catalogs are a welcome bit of clutter in my home. To provide some background, in 2014, two friends gave another friend and me permission to farm a portion of their four acres of property. They do not garden or plant anything. As payment for our use of their acreage, they asked only that they have the privilege of sharing in the harvest.
No problem. We already shared most of the harvest from the small plots we had in a community garden. We selected a quarter acre in a sunny spot.
This year as I contemplated the photos in the catalogs and started sketching out my portion of the garden, I thought about the work that goes into the garden and the reward of eating that first ripe strawberry in early May.
And how nice it is when I take a basket of produce to church and invite people to take what they want. I carefully plan the garden to include plants that will attract pollinators —bees, birds, and butterflies. All summer long, the raspberry bushes are covered with bees; so many birds gather that onlookers comment on the large number.
People take photos of the monarch and swallowtail butterflies that invade the zinnias. As I look at all the various creatures and the gorgeous, colorful flowers, I am reminded of Jesus’ words when He told His listeners to consider the lilies in the field or the birds in the air. Neither reaps or sows or labors or spins, yet God takes care of them. How much more will God take care of us? We only need to ask God to take care of our needs.
Jean Arthur