Weeds and Sin
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My husband and I love gardening. Okay, maybe “love” is too strong of a word. We certainly do enjoy it as it is a major source of income for us. The one thing that we dislike about our hobby/occupation is the WEEDS.
My husband and our two sons were working out in the garden one day about 12 years ago, when one of the boys asked, “Why do we have weeds?” My husband explained to the boys that when Adam and Eve ate of the fruit from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil that the weeds were a part of the punishment.
Then to Adam he said, “Because you have listened to the voice of your wife, and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you, saying, ‘You shall not eat from it’; Cursed is the ground because of you; In toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. Both thorns and thistles it shall grow for you; And you will eat the plants of the field.” –Genesis 3:17-18 (NASB)
Weeds and sin are the same! They both get in the way of productive lives. Weeds keep the plants you want to grow from thriving. Sin keeps us from thriving. It keeps us separated from God. When we are wallowing in sin and not living in God’s will, we cannot have a complete and full relationship with Him. The weeds (our sin) gets in the way.
In case you have been following my series on healthy eating and living, yes, this is the third installment in that series. (Check out post #1 & #2.) You may wonder what this has to do with being healthy. Well, the growing season has arrived. It is time to get out there and start planting all those fresh veggies. And, yes, you will have to toil and get rid of the weeds but you will have a great crop of yummy, healthy food to show for it.
Health Tip #3: Grow your own food. This not only gets you fresh vegetables to eat but it also gets you out of the house and into the fresh air and gets you active. This is especially good if you have children who are picky eaters. When they get involved in growing and preparing their food, they are more likely to try new things.
Gardening does not have to be difficult or a lot of work. Start with container gardening. You just need a few large pots. You can put a variety of greens in a pot now. Add some radish and carrot seeds to one side and you have fresh salad for weeks. You can put a tomato plant in another pot and squash in yet another. Just make sure that you get bush type plants/seeds for the plants that get bigger.
The maintenance of these pots is fairly simple. Start with a good growing medium. Do not use dirt from your garden as it can contain weed and grass seed.
Like us, your plants need to eat and drink. Do not overdo it. When the soil starts to dry out, water them. Periodically, I feed mine fish emulsion. This is available in garden centers or you can make your own.
One of the best things you can do if you’re a coffee drinker (make at home, not Starbucks) is add your coffee grounds.
Your tomato plants will also love your banana peels and eggshells. One more thing about the tomatoes is that if they are blooming but not producing, beat them with a broom. Yes, literally, run a broom back and forth over them and that will help pollinate them.
Just a few hours a week and you will have great-tasting vegetables in your own backyard.
Recipe: I’ll be sharing recipes for garden veggies in the next few posts.
Asparagus
1 lb asparagus, tough ends trimmed
1 clove garlic, minced
1 T olive or grapeseed oil
Salt and pepper to taste
Heat cast iron skillet over high heat. Add oil, then remaining ingredients, stirring constantly. Cook for about 3 minutes and serve.
