So I started a garden...and it grew. It was beautiful! Green, lush, everything a proper garden should be. I was amazed, as a first timer that my garden was doing so well. I would hear stories about other people's lots...no plants, flooding, yellowing, dying...so dismal. I would think, "wow, I must have this awesome green thumb". HA HA. If only that were true. Well, something took me off of my high and mighty seat (I think we all know what/who this something was).
I was proud, too proud.
Imagine, if you will...
A huge, green, fat caterpillar...
Now imagine a lot of them...
I wonder why God made them? Probably so that they could come and destroy my beautiful oasis of vegetables. Really. An infestation of Army worms. I hate Army worms...they came, they ate, they conquered. I might hate them as much as I hate roaches, but that's a strong might. Roaches are disgusting. I have a can of Raid in almost every room of my house. We don't really even have a problem, but on the chance that I might see one, I need to be armed. Roaches were probably here with Adam and Eve, and I'm convinced that Eve hated them as much as I do, too bad she didn't have Raid. That's not necessarily documented in the Bible, but I have a strong feeling...Roaches have done bad things to me, my house, and my sanity....but, I digress. Another story for another day.
Just to give you an idea:
Zucchini: gone
Carrots: only 5 left
Squash: still leafy, although few actual fruits, they might have been lucky
Tomatoes: they made their mark
Spinach: gone
Green Lettuce: gone
Does anyone see a pattern? And here I am, trying to be all natural and sustainable...if you can imagine that. I'm just la-dee-dahing with my neem oil everyday thinking that I'm making some headway on killing these monsters. Ummmm...Not so much...poor garden. I finally did kill all those caterpillars, too bad they were already experiencing their fat and happy days. We'll get some veggies this fall, but it won't be the mass canning/freezing experience I was hoping for. I might get lucky to make 1 batch of spaghetti sauce and 1 loaf of squash bread. Oh how the Lord humbles our vanity. I hope my garden is as ugly as some of our friends gardens' were at the beginning of the season...and then it can turn beautiful like all theirs are turning now...tear.
Next somewhat related, but not entirely topic:
Who knew that HFCS was in EVERYTHING...oreos, wonderful, delicious oreos. I didn't! Well, maybe I did, but chose not to care/listen/heed warning...maybe that was me. Most of my fondest memories from childhood contain oreos...anyway, it's in a lot of things we eat and it's kind of unhealthy. I can't tell you how many times I've gone to the store to get something I always get, check the label and then sadly place it back on the shelf. I think that a few things with HFCS here and there are fine, no big deal, enjoy them while you can, but I have caught myself picking up the toilet paper package, turning it over to check the label...realizing what I'm doing and then disgustedly throwing it into my basket! Other people on the isle...thinking...weirdo alert. Well, they may be right yet.
I don't do this with everything...I still occasionally buy some oreos, and I won't take gatorade away from my husband...but, it's interesting to think about all the foods we have cut out, or substituted with something similar, and now don't really miss all that much. I won't say that I feel totally different physically and have had this new, inspiring, out of body experience feeding my motivation to go completely green and natural. Seriously, can I get some V8 Splash...? Actually, those of you that know me know that I won't jump into "going green" because it IS popular and trendy and a lot of people ARE doing it. I will however, tread lightly and step cautiously into more sustainable living, letting the things I learn fuel my excitement and drive.
Will and I started this venture a few months ago. We researched, built a compost bin, planted a garden and started exploring the differences in grocery v. grass fed meat. Key word: exploring...Don't get me wrong. I'm still very motivated and excited about the changes we're making at home, in our diets, in the way we view food production and consumption, but it's a lot, a lot of time, money, energy. I'm truly grateful that we're learning about it, but really, what did people do when there were no grocery stores and their crops (i.e. small home gardens) failed? Oh yeah, they.might.not.eat. WOW. This is so different from our world now, and it's not so different. There's such a huge disparity in how different areas of the world produce food, and how some places don't produce enough to feed their people.
So....
How does this connect with our convictions as believers about how we produce and consume food? no.idea. Not yet anyway. Sure there are the easy answers, the general answers. What Will and I don't know is how this connects OUR identity as believers, what Christ is calling US to learn about or to do through this. We're being stretched, pulled, re-formed, trying to think about it differently so much so that my brain sometimes hurts because all we're doing is contributing more questions to the already massive list that we don't have answers for. Notice I said MY brain hurts...Will just thinks it's fun, like a math problem.
So, what is God teaching us? Is it ok to eat beef that was fed with corn...knowing that all the corn that was fed to that cow would have fed more people than the actual cow did? Transfer that same statement to other types of foods. Is that ok? Is it ok that our foot print is that large? Is it really as large as it seems? All I can say is that we're still learning...trying to go into it with an open mind. Not knowing where we'll come out on the other side, but open to the challenges of exploring those questions. We're ok with it just being about God wanting us to know how to do more things for ourselves, to teach our kids about how things grow from the earth, or for it to be a fun learning experience and something we do together. Who knows what we'll think about this in another 2, 3, 4, months or even a year? At this point, we don't think we're called to become ranchers or farmers. We're just exploring new ideas and trying to ask ourselves questions that we never have, knowing that our graceful Father will teach, correct, and guide our future decisions in this area.
Now, off to kill some worms and eat some oreo's...
No comments:
Post a Comment