Our Last Surviving Tomato

The Last Tomato

We stopped watering our garden over a month ago when the city started enforcing watering restrictions. The tomato plants were about through producing and were looking pretty sorry and soon were pitifully dried up, with just a few marble-sized green tomatoes clinging to the vines.

Then after all summer with no rain we got a whole inch last week and when I let the dog out a couple of days later, I noticed something red on one of the tomato plants. I was shocked to see this one little ripe tomato survivor, just waiting to be picked.

It reminded me of the last days of this earth's history. The Bible says there will be a "time of trouble" (Daniel 12:1). Amos says in ch. 8:11 that there will be a famine, but not of bread, and not a thirst of water, but of hearing the words of the Lord. But a remnant survives, those with the patience of the saints. Revelation 14:12

So, I honor my patient little "remnant" tomato. It gives me faith and courage that God will see us through to the end, even through enormous trials and persecutions.

How to Thrive

Just inspected our garden, or what's left of it, and it's a sad sight with this summer's drought. I decided about a week ago it wasn't worth it to keep watering, with voluntary water restrictions being called for in our city. We had been getting a fair crop of tomatoes up until then, but I was watering every day.

Likewise, I can't expect my spiritual garden to thrive when I fail to "water" it with prayer and Bible study every day.

This is how things looked in June, lush and green--

 And here are the same plants now, brown and dried up--

Drought?

One has to wonder about the incredibly hot temperatures we've been having. Everyone mostly worries about how uncomfortable it is outside, but no one is thinking much about how this will affect our water supply.

In this country we haven't a clue what kind of suffering a drought could mean. Drought is what happens in poor countries, and is followed by intense thirst and hunger by a large share of the population. Surely our water that comes so effortlessly through our water taps would never be affected by such a force of nature.

This is how most of our disasters fall on us though. We think it will never happen to us. Including Dean's tractor accident. Who would have thought that one careless moment could be such a life-changer for him?

The Sabbath makes it easy to identify blessings though. By slowing down the pace of life and looking at nature--after all, it is a celebration of creation--you are forced to see things in your life that would otherwise go unnoticed. Like that cool water pouring into your glass at the kitchen sink. Think about it next time you pour. Along with your ability to remember five minutes later that you drank it.

We are surrounded by blessings, even when it's 100 degrees out.

Stressings and Blessings

This is the second week of 100 degree weather, and the garden is really suffering, even though I water it faithfully every day. Sometimes I water in the morning; but if I'm too busy, it has to wait till evening. The poor cucumbers look about dead during the hottest part of the day. But as soon as the sun starts to go down, they perk right up. The sun and heat are obviously quite stressful to plants.

I can sympathize with stress. My life has been marked with it almost from the start. Not as much as many, I'm sure. But I've had my share. A father with anger issues, a congenital deformity, an abusive husband on drugs, divorce, depression, cancer and deaths in the family, career loss, poverty-level living, and being a caregiver for a spouse with brain injury and dementia.

Fortunately though, I've had a God to keep me "watered" morning, noon, and night. I've needed it.  He's blessed me with a husband to love, a faithful daughter, son-in-law, and nephew to support me, and two adorable granddaughters to charm and entertain me. Let alone a house I'm in the process of owning, a car given to me by my father, and plenty of clothes and food. As a matter of fact, my watering cup runneth over. I'm perking right up like a cucumber, just thinking about the blessings. Who cares about stresses, when God blesses!

Being Self-ish

I was so tired after my day in Hastings yesterday that I refused to do the mountain of dishes that filled the kitchen sinks and overflowed to the counters. I was sure it would be easier to do them this morning when I was fresher.

I thought I would be fresh enough to tackle the dreaded chore after taking my nephew to work, watering the garden, uncovering the bird, giving Dean his pills, making some French toast for breakfast, putting some clean clothes away, and getting Dean's clothes and towels ready for his bath. But alas, I felt even more fatigued than the night before!

After checking my blood pressure, I discovered it was low--95/55, the cause of my weakness and fatigue. I know from experience that drinking some water would increase the volume in my blood vessels and bring it back up. This has happened a few times to me this summer. Just not drinking as much as I should for this hot weather, I'm sure.

As caregivers we recognize that we can be so busy taking care of others we fail to take care of ourselves. The preacher Paul shared this concept with us in I Corinthians 9:27 when he said:

"But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway."

It's not selfish to look after yourself. It just makes good sense. For ANY ministry.

Gardener of the Universe

So, being the gardener in residence, it appears that my duties will be watering detail. It's the least labor-intensive, but at the same time the most time-intensive position on the family gardening team. It will be nice though because I will have a day-to-day eyeball on plant growth that the others won't have. Unfortunately, this will include watching the weeds grow, but that's where the other gardeners will have their input. I hope.

I'm looking forward to seeing our garden grow, when it gets planted that is. And reaping the fresh salad fixings it will provide somewhere down the line. There are many benefits of gardening, including the physical exercise it gives us and the joy of seeing our garden unfold its beauty before us.

This must be how the Lord felt when He was planning the Garden of Eden. There was intense anticipation in watching our earth and its inhabitants blossom before His eyes. Even before the actual "planting" time, I'm sure He was planning and preparing just what was needed to make it all unfold in the best possible way for the entire universe.

It may look like the weeds have taken over on this planet by now, but the Gardener of the Universe has a plan to eradicate those weeds in a manner that will cause them to never come back. We must trust that He knows the best methods and will utilize them in a way that will astound even the angels. We love Him, because He first loved us. Even before we were "planted". And now, it's love that will make us grow in and for Him.

The Most Effective Cold Remedy

Most people have the luxury of having a respiratory episode sneak up on them. They have at least a day or so to get used to the idea that their symptoms are indeed leading up to a cold. Not me, I know it from the first scratch or tickle in my throat. One hour I sound fine and feel reasonably human, but the next hour I transform into a nose-blowing, coughing, gasping-for-air miserable invalid.

My family saw that in me today. I morphed right before their eyes and now I am just trying to hang on to some shreds of humanity and praying this is not one of my worst colds. The kind that puts me in the hospital. But if I'm lucky it will only mean a few sleepless nights with remnants hanging on for a couple of weeks. I've already whipped out the nebulizer and taken an antihistamine and an expectorant. My lungs are just too wimpy to handle these onslaughts like a normal person. Oh, I've drunk gobs of water too. That and rest are the only two natural remedies that seem to touch what I experience with a cold.

Oh, I've forgotten to include my most effective ingredient for cold survival. Lots of prayer. It's only natural, but it works the best of them all. My prayers and those of my loved ones. I wouldn't have the courage to face this without them. Thank you, Jesus, for the prayer remedy.