Mama Bird
Matthew 6:25-34 (Amplified Bible)
25Therefore I tell you, stop being perpetually uneasy (anxious and worried) about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink; or about your body, what you shall put on. Is not life greater [in quality] than food, and the body [far above and more excellent] than clothing?
26Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father keeps feeding them. Are you not worth much more than they?
27And who of you by worrying and being anxious can add one unit of measure (cubit) to his stature or to the span of his life?
28And why should you be anxious about clothes? Consider the lilies of the field and learn thoroughly how they grow; they neither toil nor spin.
29Yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his magnificence (excellence, dignity, and grace) was not arrayed like one of these. [I Kings 10:4-7.]
30But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and green and tomorrow is tossed into the furnace, will He not much more surely clothe you, O you of little faith?
31Therefore do not worry and be anxious, saying, What are we going to have to eat? or, What are we going to have to drink? or, What are we going to have to wear?
32For the Gentiles (heathen) wish for and crave and diligently seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows well that you need them all.
33But seek (aim at and strive after) first of all His kingdom and His righteousness (His way of doing and being right), and then all these things taken together will be given you besides.
34So do not worry or be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will have worries and anxieties of its own. Sufficient for each day is its own trouble.
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I have spoken before about having a garden. I love my garden; it is one of my favorite things to do each year. It is hard, yet rewarding work. For me, it is also a teaching process. I only have faint childhood memories of my Grandparents’ farm and can only count on one hand when we actually had a garden in our yard. It’s just something I have always felt I “needed” to do each year: plant, sow, reap.
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This is only the second year we have actually had a REAL garden. Last year’s we had to baby because of the severe drought our area went through. We did pretty well, all things considered, and I happily canned garden pickings far into September. This year, naturally, the weather has been more “gardener-friendly”. The early growing months have been a bit cooler (except for May which was a tad on the warm side), and far rainier (in comparison to last year).
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The main stronghold plant in my garden is the tomato. I LOVE the tomato. I love just about any variety of tomato. I have an this admiration for this wondrous orb since I was a child. Last year, I bought way too many plants…..and THIS year I bought way too many plants.
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‘sigh’
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HOWEVER!!!! Tomatoes can and freeze very well, so if I am willing to work….very, very, very…..um….VERY….hard….I can have the taste of fresh tomatoes UP UNTIL THE NEXT HARVEST (and still have plenty to share).
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So….that’s what I do.
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Now, this year, I was becoming a bit concerned with my beloved plants. I had PLENTY OF GREEN TOMATOES, and here I was coming on 90 days since I planted them!! Of course, Hubby was getting into FULL panic mode (I was just in minor panic), and wanted me to start reading up on things we could do to FIX our problem. Well, I KNEW what one of our problems was right off: We had planted our stinking plants too close together. Our garden is small and there is not much room between ANY of the plants. I feared this was going to doom us. Plus, we were starting to have green tomatoes weigh down the branches a bit.
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On Friday, the LORD SHOWED me what the problem was (see picture above). We have a Mama Bird with four eggs NESTED in our TOMATOES!!!! Did I mention our plants are over 5 feet high?
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I couldn’t believe it…If I had NOT seen this nest, I might have gone in haphazardly and accidentally destroyed it! By going out and watering the way I did, before we left town (ironically, in an attempt to CALM DOWN my nerves a bit), God showed me the reason WHY NONE of my tomatoes had turned red yet. Our family would have been terribly distraught if we had done something to displace them or hurt them. I carefully finished watering, and we left for three days.
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When we got back home, the first thing I did was go out and check the garden. What do you think I found? No, less than ONE DOZEN RIPE TOMATOES!!!! When stuff like that happens, it makes me just want to shout, “I GET IT GOD!! I GET IT!!”
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You see, He takes care of us…He takes care of the animals. He takes care of the beautiful lilies (and I was able to get some of those this weekend too, but that is another story, for another day). We just have to stop worrying so much—He WILL provide all we need as long as we have the faith to serve Him.
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So at the times, while I’m fretting about things that may not matter much in the long run; I’m going to remember this lesson. I’ll remember it when I’m opening some homemade salsa…or adding tomato sauce to a meatloaf this fall…or perhaps gifting some tomato preserves. Maybe I’ll get a chance to tell the story of the bird and her nest, and how God takes care of the rest.
