My mother gave me a family heirloom.  Her own mother received it as a wedding gift over 90 years ago.

I had it sitting on the counter in my kitchen.  I decided that it needed protection from breakage, so I stored it in a cupboard where I have many similar treasures.  The cupboard doors are made of wood and are so high that I have to step up on a chair and on the cupboard counter to see into them.  Unless I take time to look up in that inconvenient place, I will not lay eyes on those treasures on a daily, weekly or monthly basis.

I pondered this situation today.

Since I don’t see these lovely dishes, stemware, candle sticks, glass bowls or vases on a daily basis, I don’t really use them or live in the reality of their existence.  I use the plastic unbreakables or everyday unmatched plates.

As Christians, we, too, have treasures given to us by our Heavenly Father.  Ephesians 1:3,  7 (KJV) “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: . . In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;”

The question to ask ourselves might be, “Are we living in the reality of these gifts God has given us?  Or are we shutting them up in a “cupboard” with a closed door so that we cannot be reminded of their reality on a daily basis?”

Let’s open up the Holy Bible to see the truths contained therein.  Read it daily.  You are rich in Christ, not a pauper.  Let God’s Word remind you of who your Heavenly Father is and that you are a child of the King.

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Psalm 57:2 says, “I will cry to God Most High, to God who accomplishes all things for me.”

I have read that verse many times before and considered the “all things” of which it speaks.  I gazed into the future and daydreamed about what God may do for me.  But the future is so hazy that I cannot rejoice in the specifics of what God may do for me.

Today, I looked back at what He has done.

• He gave me loving parents and hand-picked my family members .

  

  Ashland, WI on beautiful Lake Superior

• He let me grow up in the north country  to see His Majesty through Lake Superior.
• He has provided a getaway cabin in the north woods for us to enjoy.
• He granted me the desire of my heart.  I wanted to be a wife and a mother.  He provided a prince of a man to be my  husband. 
• He took me through childbirth four different times.  He lifted me up and held me when I miscarried. 
• He gave me hope when I was depressed.
• He saved me from death when I needed emergency surgery.
• He protected me and my husband when we had 2 potentially fatal accidents within 5 minutes of each other.
• He has comforted me with the recent loss of my Dad.
• He provided food and shelter for us even when money was scarce.
• Before I was created, He loved me and sent Jesus to this earth to be the source of my eternal salvation.

Take a little time today and look.  Can you see what God has accomplished for you?

Enjoy some time thanking and offering Him the praise He deserves today.

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Useless weeds take away nutrients and water that ought to nourish the crop.  They can choke the plants in the garden and make them fruitless.  They can also be harmful.

I don’t want them in my garden.  So I cultivate around plants and between the rows.

Jewelweed in bloom

Are these plants totally useless?

Without them:

• soil erosion would be more of a  problem
• wildlife would not find as many hiding places
• more animals would suffer hunger
• this world would not be as colorful
• some are noxious, while others have healing power

Maybe there is use for them after all.  But not when they are out-of -place and out-of-control.

God has made all of creation.  There is much to learn about Him in it.

Nettle with its Characteristic Jagged-edged Leaves

I found a noxious weed in my raspberry patch.  Nettles are a pesky weed that stings the bare skin.   It is very irritating to the victim.

In His wisdom, God has provided the antidote for the nettle-burn.  In its natural habitat, the nettle’s neighbor is jewelweed.  The juice of this weed applied to the nettle-sting will counteract it.  Yes, there are jewelweeds growing in my raspberry bed.

How wise our Heavenly Father is.  We can learn about Him as we explore His creation and His Word, The Holy Bible .

However, I still plan to uproot the nettle.  It is out-of-place and troublesome there and has to go.

photo credit: Bretta Grabau
photo credit: Bretta Grabau

The World Book Dictionary defines weed as “a useless or troublesome plant.”

I have been weeding my garden over the past couple of days.  Some carrot and beet seedlings are so small that I could barely see them in the row.  As they grew, so did the weeds.  I purposed to remove the weeds and get the garden looking like a healthier place for my plants.  So in the early hours, I got out in the cool of the day to remove those useless, troublesome plants.

While pulling them up, my mind went back to some words of Jesus in John 15:1 (Living Bible).  He said, “I am the true Vine, and my Father is the Gardener.”

Have you ever thought of God being a gardener?

What do you suppose is in His garden?

Later on in the passage in John 15:5, Jesus continues, “Yes, I am the Vine; you are branches.”  People are His crop.

If you were the gardener and your life was the crop, what would you see?  The crop, the weeds or both?

Jesus says in Matthew 6:33 (KJV), “Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness . . .”  Are there things in your garden that cling so closely that you cannot seek the kingdom of God?  Are they choking you and preventing you from seeking His righteousness?

Maybe it is time to evaluate what really is growing there.  Pull up whatever makes it difficult to seek the Lord and His righteousness.  If you do, you will not miss out on anything of value.  Matthew 6:33 goes on to say, “. . . and all these things shall be added unto you.”

The Head Gardener will be pleased with His crop.

Photo credit: Bretta Grabau
Photo credit: Bretta Grabau

This spring like many others, I set out bulbs that I had kept indoors over the winter.  This particular bulb came to me as a gift from a friend.  I planted it with my other bulbs when the weather was suitable for them.

Just a few days ago, I saw this gem peering through the ground and now it beams at me when I go out the front door.

Jesus mentions that we are to consider the lilies and how they grow.  “They toil not, neither do they spin: and yet I say to you, that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these” Matthew 6:28b-29 (KJV).

Solomon, born into royalty, asked for and received great wisdom granted to him by God.  His riches were unsurpassed in this world.  Even the clothing that his servants wore was breath-taking.

In II Chronicles 9:4 (KJV), we learn that Queen of Sheba visited this famous king.  Among other things she saw the spendor of his servants.  Scripture says, “…the attendance of his servants, and their clothing, his cup bearers, and their clothing , . . . there was no more spirit in her.”  What an impression they made!

Yet Jesus compares the lily’s  adornment to the royal glory Solomon experienced and displayed.

The lily has its unique qualities programmed into its very being.   The root is given these traits by its Creator.  Where it is planted it draws nourishment from the earth, the sun and the rain He provides.  It grows according to its Creator’s design.

The lily’s existence does not depend on the lily, but on its Creator who cares for it.

Like the lily, you have unique characteristics that God had given you.  Be like the lily and grow according to His design.

photo credit: Bretta Grabau
photo credit: Bretta Grabau

(An exerpt from Tales from Heritage Farm.)

We all have scratchy places in life similar to the berry patch.  These places seem to reach out to grab us or trip us up.  They may be as simple as berry bushes or maybe a “scratchy job” or ” snag in an uncomfortable relationship.”

Whatever it may be, why not try using Judy’s raspberry tactics?

My mom-in-law, my friend, my sister-in-the-Lord, Judy recommends, “Don’t just stand and look down at the patch (or situation), but rather get down on your knees and look up.”  Look up to the Lord Jesus; call out to Him in prayer.

In Jeremiah 33:3, God invites each of us, “Call unto me, and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things you have not known.”  In any situation, whatever it may be, He will answer and show us many things that we do not realize are just beyond our sight.  Just as in the raspberry patch, we can see beneath the surface and behold the treasures He has placed there for us.  But we must call to Him.

Right there in your scratchy spot, take Judy’s great advice:  “Get down on your knees and look up.”

(For a reminder of making that important call, see the card, Party Line.)

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(An exerpt from the book, Tales from Heritage Farm.)

The Inviting Crop

Judy, my mother-in-law, had a raspberry patch which I inherited when my husband and I moved on to Heritage Farm.  I recall her relating a little trick to me that she put into practice when berry picking.  In order for me to get a pail full of berries, her counsel  was, “Get down on your knees and look up.”

Out I went, pail in hand.  The plumpness of the berries was evident.  They were indeed ready to harvest.  The tangy, sweet smell of ripening fruit made my mouth water.  I worked my way into the scratchy patch.  With every move I made, the tangle of thorny raspberry plants reached out to snag me.  I picked every ripe berry I could see.

A Hidden Treasure

Then, in response to her words, I got down on my knees and looked up. . . There in that world down under the raspberry leaves bobbed hundreds of bright red treasures ready for the picking.  Judy was right!  What sound advice she gave me that day.

Since then, we have enjoyed raspberry shortcake, jam, jelly, syrup, sauce, and, of course, luscious pie.  My technique of eyeing the crop from above the patch did produce a  yield.  But a much greater, more abundant harvest was just under the canopy of leaves.  I simply needed to “get down on my knees and look up.”

(To be continued)

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photo credit: Olga Oslina via photo pin ccA

Just yesterday, I  got a call from a perky telemarketer hoping to give me one of two free gifts in exchange for evaluating a product.  The choices were:

• $1000 in coupons for Brand Name items at my local food store
• One 3-day/2-night weekend at a resort of my choice anywhere in the United  States

I have had these offers before.  My answer  “No thanks. It’s too expensive.”

• You see, I don’t buy many Brand Name items since, even with the coupons, I can find a less expensive item that is comparable.
• As for the vacation, we would have to find someone to milk the cows while we are away and that would also be an expense to avoid.

What is a “Free” that is really free?  Free is something that is given to another.  The price is paid in full by the giver.  The benefit of the gift belongs to the one receiving the gift.

God has given a gift to all who will receive it.  It is eternal life.  Jesus Christ paid for it in full.  The benefit of this gift belongs to the one receiving it. The Holy Bible puts it this way,  “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  Romans 6:23 (RSV)

Now that is a “Free” that really is free.  I hope you have received it.

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