Today we had the opportunity (and privilege) to walk through the HUGE farm of Acres of Hope.
Acres of acres of watermelons, bananas, cabbage, beans, okra, green pepper, broccoli, eggplant, tomatoes not to mention LOTS of pigs and piglets, cattle, duck, and turkeys. We spent almost two hours walking the property, looking at the many things they grow not only to eat, but also to sell. It’s a part of their self-sustaining plan.
As we stood in the watermelon patch looking at the hundreds of watermelons being grown, Geoffrey made a comment about how right now things are “lean.”
They are just coming out of a several month drought and there aren’t many things to harvest yet. They are growing tons, but because of the lack of rain, nothing is quite ready.
“Right now we are in a time when things are lean. And many people refer to pumpkins as the savior.”
Pumpkins – a savior.
It’s funny . . . . many of us LOVE our pumpkin spice. This fall when the Pumpkin Spice Latte hit the menus at Starbucks it was all over social media. Not to mention the myriad of other items that we eat/drink that are now pumpkin flavored.
Of all those things we enjoy, I’m pretty sure most of us don’t think of the pumpkin as our savior.
When I heard Geoffrey say that I immediately thought of Starbucks and our beloved coffee.
I turned to Leanne and commented, “Funny, for us it is something we use in our coffee.”
Leanne replied, “I have two on my porch. Just sitting . . . on my porch.”
The moment was somber as we realized, yet again, that in our part of the world we have so much that we use things for adornments that others view as life-giving. In fact, they view them as more than just life-giving . . . they think of them as saviors.
Our attics are full.
Our storage units are rented and utilized.
We have basements and bonus rooms.
For most of us – we need for nothing. Want – maybe. But need – no.
As we pondered the Pumpkin example today we realized something.
1 Starbucks Grande with some pumpkin spice in it = 2 ½ days of sustenance for a child at Acres of Hope. That includes food, medicine, clothes, housing, security, and education.
The pumpkins come and go. And for a period of time, they do offer life-saving and life-giving sustenance. Yet – the even more interesting thing is that the people who are dependent on the pumpkins as “a” savior also have faith in a God that offers a personal savior. This savior supplies them with all that they need. A savior that calms their fears, a savior that walks them through dark valley’s, and a savior that provides them with unending peace.
Again, despite the hunger and not knowing what is going to come . . . there is a joy and peace here that abounds. One we in America could stand to learn a lot from.
Funny the lessons we can learn from pumpkins.
Pumpkins and Peace.
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