Janet and I had some time on our hands this afternoon and drove north of our home into the rural country to visit a farmstand that we really enjoy going to several times during the summer. It’s one of those family places that has been there for ages – and they make their own fudge as well as sell produce grown on their own land. Here in central Indiana, corn is the big thing and this time of year, the apple crop starts to come in and you can get the finest apple cider that you have ever had – right here almost in our own backyard.
This spring, the first time we were there this year, we were in for a big surprise. The old wooden building that has been there since we moved to Indiana back in 1982 had been replaced by a more modern metal structure that was much larger and held many more items. Now there is a large deli area, more room for fresh produce and even a frozen section for fruits and other products that have been harvested, cleaned and prepared for pie fillings, etc. They are available for purchase alongside the jams, jellies, preserves and other canned items. Maybe the food isn’t that different from what we would get at the local grocer, but it sure seems different and the ambiance alone is worth the trip.
Every time we go there I recall how Janet and I used to have a garden back in the days when we lived in Inverness, IL. It was 60′ x 40′ and we grew just about every imaginable crop. From radishes to cucumbers; strawberries to watermelon and rhubarb, we grew it all. Around this time of year when the fruits and veggies really came in, I was a maniac when it came to canning the excess. We would have plum preserves, bread and butter pickles, tomato bisque soup and even candied watermelon rind (one of my personal favorites). Though I haven’t canned anything in years, I remember those days like it was yesterday.
Earlier this year I thought about starting a garden in the backyard of our new place, but I just haven’t taken the step yet. I may still do it next year but I have to admit that I don’t like tending to the garden like I did in the old days. But I do love the harvest and seeing everything grow throughout the year. So who knows – just maybe I will take the plunge.
Today, I picked up some fresh green beans – right out of the field and I have to say that they were the best beans we have had all year. And the fresh cole slaw – delicious. It is amazing how much better stuff tastes when it is fresh from the farm. By virtue of the fact that I am writing about this tonight reinforces the impact that it had on me.
And it all started even before God put Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Because back on the third day of creation, we are told that God created vegetation and that includes some of the foods that we eat. We are told, in Genesis Gen. 1:11-13, “Then God said, “Let the land produce vegetation: seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds.” And it was so. The land produced vegetation: plants bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there was morning—the third day.”
Notice that God saw that it was good! And it still it. My encouragement this evening is that God created all of this for us to enjoy and to nourish us. We have the responsibility to take care of our bodies that God has provided to us. My prayer is that you will take care of God’s creation because it’s all we have and there are just too many people in the world who just don’t care what happens to the earth. I pray that you aren’t one of them. Have a great day in the Lord, grace and peace…