Posts Tagged: strawberries

“Cherishing and Cherished”

On May 5, 2021 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer

“Cherish is the word that I use to describe

All the feelings that I have . . .” (“Cherish” The musical group, The Association)

“God knows how many hairs you have on your head.” (Jesus of Nazareth)

“I cherish my wife, but I don’t know how many hairs she has on her head.” (Me)

I let my wife talk me out of getting a bunch of strawberry plants. I am so glad that she succeeded! I would have gotten twenty-five (or even fifty), which would not have been good. I’m seventy years old, have bone spurs and various other problems. I have no business acting like I am fifteen years old. I bought 1,000 strawberry plants the year I turned fifteen or sixteen. It was for a Future Farmers of America crop project. Seventy is a long way from fifteen.

So, I bought ten plugs with three strawberry plants in each plug. Much smarter! They are everbearing, and already have some berries ripening.

I went out yesterday to see how they were doing. I asked them, and they said, “Oh, we’re just fine! Thank you for giving us a home.”

However, I knew that the rains were coming, so I gave the plants some TLC by placing grass clippings around the plants and especially under the berries. This will (hopefully) keep the berries from getting too muddy. When they get muddy, they tend to rot before they ripen.

As I was carefully lifting the berries and gently placing the clippings under them, I was cherishing the plants and the berries. It occurred to me that, if I had a lot of plants, there was no way that I could cherish them and take such good care of them. There is a saying, “Go big, or go home!” That is probably a good saying for many things. Along the same line is the expression “the economy of scale.” However, there is a lot to be said for the economy of small scale as well.

One of the benefits of the economy of small scale is that, when I go small, I can cherish things more. Staying small helps me to cherish small things in a big way. A friend of mine reminded me that doing small things out of the love of God is the best way to live a life that is worth living. Yes!

Only God is big enough to cherish everything that is. I will confine myself to loving those around me. That would include my wife, our little dog, the goldfinches that visit my bird feeders, and my strawberry plants. It also includes you, dear reader. I hope that you not only feel cherished by reading this little meditation. I hope that you also are moved to cherish other things, including your job, your spouse, and your friends just a bit more.

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“Repurposing Strawberries and Weaknesses”

On June 15, 2019 by Dteb With 0 Comments - down to earth believer

A good friend of mine and I were chatting on the phone, going over our needs for the day, and praying.  I mentioned that I was going to clear out my strawberry patch, and turn my strawberries into compost.  “They’ve done their duty.  Now, they will be repurposed as compost, and worked back into the soil.”  I think that I was comforting myself by framing this as “repurposing,” rather than grubbing out my strawberries.  Sometimes, you have to steel yourself to say goodbye to something or someone you love.

When my friend prayed over the phone, he took my composting deeper, making it about more than strawberries, and thus, much more profound.  He said something to this effect: “LORD, please help us to root out our weaknesses, and repurpose them as compost.”

Yes!

Our weaknesses may have once been our strengths, but (like my strawberries) it may be time to repurpose them.  The time has come for something else.

Of course, one day we will all be ready to become compost, won’t we?  Embalming and burial in a coffin will slow the process, but will not prevent it.  A cheery thought, isn’t?

But even while we live, there are things in us that need to die.  It helps to think of even those things as being repurposed.  There are many things in all of us that are bad.  There is nothing that can’t be used for a good purpose.  Figuring out how is the work of a lifetime.

What can you repurpose?  Why not start right now?

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