Sharing with our “neighbors!”
“Remember this: Whoever sows
sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap
generously.”
“Thanks be to God for his
indescribable gift!”*
Al and I looked
forward to harvesting tomatoes from two lush tomato plants growing in the
garden during the summer months. The first crop ripened in late July, producing
several juicy tomatoes, enough for us to enjoy and to share with our neighbors
too.
It wasn’t
We picked up the remnants of tomatoes and threw
them along the back fence, hoping that would satisfy the little creatures. Those
were quickly devoured; but then the animals kept coming back for more. Maybe we
were unknowingly creating a worse problem by helping them develop a taste for
tomatoes!
Some of our
neighbors made suggestions like sprinkling coffee grounds on the soil in the
garden beds or picking the tomatoes when they were green and letting them ripen
in the house. Well, coffee grounds didn’t seem to deter the rodents…and
tomatoes that ripened in the house just didn’t taste the same as those ripened
on the vine.
Neighbor Jim had a
colony of chipmunks under his deck and caught several of them using a live
trap. The captured ones were transported to a park about a mile away.
However, supposedly they have a good internal
GPS system and are able to find their way back to their nests unless their GPS
system gets mixed up by driving around in circles! Don’t know if that is true!
But it does make some sense! Anyhow, we
didn’t try the trap and transportation method.
After the first crop of tomatoes, the weather
began to cool down, causing the ripening of the smaller ones to be delayed.
Soon the green tomatoes started disappearing. What to do?
Ghosts and goblins
hanging from trees at the beginning of October inspired me to create a few
“scarecrows” or “scare-squirrels” out of some of Al’s old t-shirts and post
them on guard around the garden.
“They’re going to be scared to death!” joked
Al.
I guess the animals didn’t think they were too
scary because the following morning I spied a bushy gray tail sticking out from
one of the tomato plants! Another squirrel was caught pulling on one of the
ghosts in an attempt to take it back to its nest!
“Why aren’t the
squirrels and chipmunks collecting pinecones and storing them away for the
winter as they have in the past?” I wondered. “Tomatoes aren’t going to tide
them over!”
Then I realized
that there didn’t seem to be as many pinecones on the ground or hanging from
the branches of the evergreens as usual, perhaps because it was a dry summer
(by Michigan standards), with about a seven-inch shortfall of rain for this
time of the year.
If we don’t
harvest any more tomatoes, Al and I can always buy some at the grocery store.
Maybe it’s not such a big deal to share them with the animals who might be
hungry this winter.
In addition to the
wildlife, there are many folks who are going to need food and shelter in the
months ahead. Are we thinking of the homeless, the poor and needy and of ways
to share our resources with them?
Opportunities
abound, like buying extra groceries when shopping and giving them to food
pantries or putting food in the small “pantries” on poles popping up around the
community.
How about making
up baggies of supplies, matches and other necessities and giving them to the
folks on street corners holding up signs for help? Or handing out blankets,
hats and gloves? Contributing to charities that provide food and shelter to the
homeless works too.
What are some ways
to help our global neighbors as well as those in our own communities? We can share with those people by supporting
missions, donating clothing and other items we no longer use, by filling shoeboxes
of gifts for needy children around the world with Operation Christmas Child…the
list goes on and on!
God’s blessings
have been poured out upon us! May we freely share our gifts; may we freely
share the gift of Jesus, God’s “indescribable gift,” with a world in need.
*2 Corinthians 9:6,15 NIV
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