My tomatoes are ripening, it makes me so happy! The little green tomatoes have fattened and became light and lighter. Now they are turning pink. They stand out against all the green leaves, drawing my eyes to their difference.

But I am not the only one who has noticed this ripening fruit. The birds have noticed as well. They love to come and peck the tomatoes as soon as any rose hint appears. Are they drinking the juice? Attracting bugs for a more protein rich meal? Confusing it with a flower? Who knows? What I do know is they can destroy my tomatoes.

So every summer I go through the ridiculously laborious task if putting up bird netting. After several summers of losing our tomatoes to the birds, Nick erected a metal pole frame over which we could lay the netting. This at least keeps the plants from growing through the netting. The netting is almost invisible and catches on everything, even grass. Getting the netting unfolded, unrolled, and over the metal poles, which are taller than me, tests my patience.

And it’s not something I can do by myself.

But if this extra effort helps protect a bountiful harvest of fruit, then it is definitely worth the time and frustration.

Am I willing to exert that effort to protect my spiritual fruit from predators who aim to destroy it?

Because just as red tomatoes stand out against green leaves, your spiritual fruit will stand out against the background of worldly living. When you are loving when you have every “right” to be angry, when you are gentle when many would use force, when you are peaceful in a time of unrest, others will notice. Some will admire you and rejoice, but others will take advantage of you, apply more pressure, maybe even make you a target.

For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but … against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly place. Therefore, take up the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to … stand firm. Ephesians 6:12-13

To make sure that my fruit continues to ripen unscarred and protected from those who would destroy it, I need to shield it with bird netting. I need to erect a barrier between my fruit, the evidence of the Holy Spirit in my life, and the world around me, a barrier that is almost invisible but keeps the fruit intact.

Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so that you may discern what is the will of God – what is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12:2

Like putting up bird netting, renewing our minds is not a simple task. It can be time-consuming and frustrating. It catches on our emotions and knee-jerk reactions. We, I, often fall far short of what is good or acceptable, much less perfect.

But don’t give up. Keep at the task, because that layer of protection is the only way the fruit can ripen without being destroyed.

Now, discipline always seems painful rather than pleasant at the time, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness. Hebrews 12:11

And it’s not something I can do by myself.

I need my church. I need my Christian friends. I need the Holy Spirit – after all, it’s His fruit that’s growing!

Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. Ephesians 6:18

The tomatoes are turning red, displaying themselves to the world. It is a time of joy, but also a time when they need additional protection from that which would steal and destroy them. Put in the effort, my friend, and get that bird netting in place.

Thank you for reading this and sharing it with your friends. The world needs to see the fruit of the Spirit right now. I pray it is growing in your life, ripening for all to see.

Betsy

Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing. John 15:5

Cucumbers, like all their squash cousins, are rambunctious, exuberant, enthusiastic plants. The plants will grow to fill whatever space you have provided and then grow some more. Fences are merely obstacles easily overcome.

In our first garden, we planted winter squash because the plants were available. We had no fence on our terraced garden, so the squash grew into our yard, through the fence and into the neighbor’s yard. We ate squash until we were sick of it.

That first year, we planted the cucumbers next to the tomatoes. The cucumbers grew into the tomatoes and hung their fruit on the cages right beside the tomatoes.

Now, I plant the cucumbers alone, away from any other vegetable, and fence them in on all sides.

But a fence is not enough. When I walk my garden every day, I have to put the cucumbers vines back inside the fence. They are not very fragile, so I can manhandle them more than I can the tomatoes. I need to be just as enthusiastic as they are.

I love their enthusiasm. I can relate. I often feel like I am on the verge of being out of control, like I am testing the boundaries and going outside the fence. I am grateful that God sends His Spirit to corral my exuberance.

When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth. John 16:12

My ministers, my Christian friends, the Bible – all help me stay inside the fence, help me stay in right relationship, help my wandering thoughts to return to God and Jesus.

All scripture is inspired by God and useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction and for training in righteousness. 2 Timothy 3:16

And you know what? This rambunctious, exuberant, enthusiastic attitude is exactly what makes cucumbers and their squash cousins such prolific producers of fruit. They have no fear, no timidity, no apparent caution. They just keep growing until a stronger hand moves them back into the fence.

I think God likes enthusiasm.

Do not lag in zeal, be ardent in spirit, serve the Lord. Romans 12:11

In John’s Revelation, only the church of Laodicea receives no praise.

So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I am about to spit you out of my mouth. Revelation 3:16

So grow with abandonment dear cucumbers! I will corral and correct your growth, just as God corrals and corrects mine. I hope that my enthusiasm makes God smile as much as the cucumber’s enthusiasm makes me smile.

I pray I can be as enthusiastic about serving the Lord, about growing in my faith, about becoming all that God has planned for me to be, as my cucumbers are.

But I also admire those hardy pepper plants. They grow up straight and strong and bear their fruit with pride. Growing between the tomatoes and cucumbers, I check on them every day, but rarely do they need anything from me except water. I’d like to think I could be like them, not needing correction and containment or even tender training, but God creates each plant differently and each person differently.

So whether you relate to the enthusiastic cucumber, the prized tomato, or the independent pepper, or even the fragile sugar snap, know that God values you. Praise God that He grows all kinds of plants in His garden. Praise God that He cares for each plant in the manner best suited to its particular needs. Please know that He values, grows, and cares for each of you as well.

God said, “See, I have given you every plant yielding seed that is upon the face of all the earth, and every tree with seed in its fruit; you shall have them for food. Genesis 1:29

Keep growing, my friend!

Betsy

In Him all things were created. John 1:3

My tomatoes look so good! After the disaster of the sugar snaps, these healthy plants are a source of joy.

But I still need to tend to them daily. Not only do they need water, but they need training.

Tomato stems are not strong enough to bear their own weight, much less the weight of their fruit. As the branches grow, I must continually pull them inside the tomato cages or they will lie on the ground, spoiling the fruit. I gently lift the growing branches and rest them on the nearest rib of the cage. Gently, gently, because the new branches are fragile.

If I allow the branch to get too big before training them to the cage, I will have to bend the branch and risk breaking it. So I watch for fresh growth and support the branches with the cage as soon as possible.

The importance of training the tomatoes to the cages is something we learned from experience. Many plants, like the pepper plants, can bear the weight of their own fruit, but tomato plants cannot. The weight of the tomato will break the branch. Only when the branch is supported by the cage, can it bear the weight of the ripe tomato.

Do I need to be trained to accept support? I’m not a fan of needing help. It makes me feel old and weak. But these tomatoes are healthy and growing. It’s not that the plant is weak, but that the fruit is massive in comparison. A pear has an entire tree to support it. A similar sized tomato has only this tiny plant.

Perhaps, if my fruit is large compared to myself, I need support for it.

Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed; and whenever he lowered his hand, Amelek prevailed. But Moses’ arms grew weary, so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it. Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side and the other on the other side, so his hands were steady. Exodus 17:11-12

I find the fruit of the Spirit so appealing – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, faithfulness, generosity and self-control. So Melanie from Gone with the Wind. So counter to my Scarlett personality. I need support; I need to be trained to bear this fruit successfully. I am grateful to my friends who offer that support and gently correct me. I am thankful when they let me lean on them. Hopefully, I will can do the same for them or someone else someday. That is what the Christian community is all about – support.

Therefore encourage one another, and build up each other, as indeed you are doing… And we urge you, beloved, to admonish the idlers, encourage the faint hearted, help the weak, be patient with all of them. I Thessalonians 5:11,14

Already there are little yellow flowers and tiny green tomatoes in my garden. I know it will be weeks, perhaps even months, before I can harvest any. But the promise is there. And the reminder to train the plant to the support cage before the fruit becomes heavy. A reminder to allow myself to be supported; to support others, and to encourage others to accept support. With support, the plant can produce abundant fruit. With support, that fruit is visible and available to the world.

In the same way, let your light shine before others so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:16

Thank you for supporting me as I garden, and as I write about gardening. Thank you to the many of you who have helped me grow as a Christian and learn to live as a widow. I thank our Lord for the gift of you.

Betsy

Let me praise God before the assembly. Psalm 22:22

I have sugar snaps! All three of them were delicious!

I heard an actor speak once about the false gods Americans embrace – success, wealth and beauty. The importance of these is so interwoven into our culture that we hardly recognize it. Many of us weave these into our religion as well, somehow believing that living faithfully will make us successful, wealthy, and beautiful. But is this the example Jesus gave us? Without His resurrection, would any of us describe Jesus as successful, wealthy, or beautiful? Certainly not in the the world’s view.

Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, “Show us the Father?” Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? John 24:9-10

Of course, the tricky part of this is “success” because the definition is flexible. Was Jesus a success because many people came out to listen to Him? 10,000 likes on Facebook? Success used to be linked with wealth, but we could also link it with power or influence. In today’s culture, a company needs to be profitable, generous and socially conscious to be “successful,” although I think the profitable bit is still very key.

Was my sugar snap garden successful? I got three peas. Is that success? No, it is not. I have been round and round about what went wrong, what I could do better, and what I will try next year. Because even if I am not “successful,” I believe God wants me to give it my best effort.

Whatever your task, put yourselves into it, as done for the Lord. Colossians 3:23

But for now, the spring garden is a bust. It is time to pull up the cages, take down the fence and let the mowers cut the weeds back. This year’s sugar snaps were a failure. If I were in a more unhealthy place, I might feel like I was a failure as well. There have certainly been times when my failure at a task has led me to feel like a failure as a person. But today, it just feels like another lesson from the garden. Perhaps being able to write about it has helped.

Perhaps I am redefining “success” and “failure.” Perhaps “success” has very little to do with production or profit or popularity. Perhaps it has nothing to do with wealth or beauty.

Jesus said to him, “If you wish to be perfect, go, sell all your possessions, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me. Matthew 19:21

I am grateful for my three sugar snaps. I ate them with joy and thanksgiving. They were a gift from God. And they came, as they do every year, around Pentecost.

Pentecost, 50 days after Passover/Easter, marks the end of the Festival of Weeks and the celebration of First Fruits. One of the oldest Jewish festivals, Moses made it a mandatory celebration in Exodus, Leviticus and Numbers. By Jesus’s time, the Jewish people celebrated Pentecost as the day God gave His law to His people. It was as the people were celebrating the gift of the law that God gave the gift of His Spirit to His people.

When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place…. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:1-4

And isn’t it always a “success” when God gives us a gift? When God gives us His law, so we know what pleases and angers Him? When God gives us His Spirit to make us new creations? When God gives me three delicious sugar snaps to enjoy?

Thank You, Lord. What wonderful fruit You have created. What a blessing You have given to me. Thank You.

Betsy

Thank you for reading along and joining me on this journey. Even if you don’t have a garden, God is growing something in your life. Trust Him and enjoy the fruit.

The earth is full of His majesty. Isaiah 6:3