Garden Gifts

People who garden enjoy giving away stuff from the garden.  It almost seems like an unthinkable thing to do.  Anyone who tends a gardens knows about the investment of time, money, and energy.  It is mostly true that what is grown in the garden can be bought cheaper than it can be grown.  It is also true that a garden requires a good hoe, a strong back, and knees that can withstand a lot of kneeling and crawling.  Gardening is hard work.  It is a hard work over a long period of time. 

 

Yet, those who garden still do it mostly because it is enjoyable.  The fresh produce is a bonus.  Not even a bad season filled with dry weather, plant disease, and an abundance of bugs will keep a real gardener away from the garden the next year.  Gardening gets in their blood.  And it is also true that giving away, or sharing what is grown gets in the blood of the gardener.  Maybe it is a form of showing off, or bragging, but more likely it speaks of a desire to share something of value with a person who is of value.

 

Too many of our gifts are given only at some calendar event which calls for a gift.  A heart that knows about giving does not require any reason except a desire to share something of value with another.  It brings pleasure to the gardener to offer a neighbor a bunch of tomatoes, or some eggplants, or maybe a few ears of corn.  It is the joy of sharing and giving which takes the gardener to the neighbor's house.  Whatever the gift, if it brings us joy to be giving it, then God is surely pleased.