God’s Awesome Works
“Come and see what God has done, how awesome his works in
man’s behalf!” * Summer in Michigan means spending time in the garden, after planting in late spring. It’s important to wait until the ground warms up from the frigid winter before planting; but even then, everything seems to get off to a slow start! Those of us city dwellers who have gardens wait in anticipation for the first signs of ripening produce which happened this year around mid-july.
There has been plenty of rain; so it has only been necessary to water a couple of times each week at the most! Now in California, watering would be tops on the list.
Our garden is downsized from the large deer and gopher-proofed plot we had in Springville. Tomatoes, zucchini, lettuce, yellow squash, peppers, green beans, onions, chives and broccoli are growing in five square raised beds. Deer and gophers aren’t much of a threat and our dogs have been keeping away the rabbits and squirrels. The tomatoes were in half-gallon sized pots and the rest of the vegetables were in pintsized containers when we planted them. That helped speed things up a bit. Once they started growing, it turned out that one raised bed was too small for two each of the zucchini plants, tomatoes and broccoli.
It wasn’t long before the zucchini plants took over most of the bed, covering the broccoli completely. They had to be pruned back twice to keep them from taking over the tomato cages. In spite of the competition, the tomatoes have also flourished.
We’ve finally been rewarded with cherry and larger, “beefy” tomatoes, as well as several goodsized zucchinis, lettuce and a few green beans. The flavor and texture of home-grown veggies can’t be beat! This is all new to us as we try to adjust to a different climate and zone from that in California. But it sure is fun experimenting and watching the garden grow!
I had an interesting conversation about fruit with a second-grade girl as I was waiting in the dentist’s office for Al one morning. The little girl, Angelise, sat across from me as she waited for her mother and younger sister. Angelise, had a puffy cheek from a cotton ball on the spot where a tooth had been extracted. She was sniffling and looking unhappy.
I asked Angelise if it hurt. She nodded yes. “Can I say a prayer with you?” I asked. She nodded again, so I took her hand and prayed.
Then she told me she really wanted to take the cotton ball out of her mouth, but had been told to wait 20 minutes. She seemed less upset after we prayed and didn’t mention it again, at least not to me.
Since we were at the dentist, I asked her if she liked to eat fruit…better for the teeth than candy. Angelise brightened up and said pears were her favorite. I shared that mine were cherries.
“Well,” said little Angelise, “I like watermelon too, especially the juice. It is so sweet and runny.” It probably would have tasted good after getting her tooth pulled!
“Watermelon is great on a hot summer day,” I added. “God did good when he made fruit, didn’t He?”
Her response surprised me. “Did God make fruit or did Jesus?”
Hmmm… “Well, I think they worked together. What do you think?”
She nodded in the affirmative. Then another surprising question, “Do God and Jesus love each other?”
“Yes, I’m sure they do. Very much!” I answered.
At that point her mother and little sister came out. I told the young mom I had prayed with Angelise and I hoped she didn’t mind. She said, “No.” Angelise immediately asked her mother if the cotton ball could be removed from her mouth.
The dental assistant seemed surprised upon checking the place where the tooth had been. “Why there’s no bleeding! It can come out now!” Hurray!
God does good work, doesn’t He? First His amazing creation; then, sending His beloved Jesus out of His great love for us; and among other things, healing us and making us whole…body, soul and spirit. Thank you, Lord!
*Psalm 66:5 NIV