Popcorn

 

“Today is the day,” I thought as I headed down to our garden.  I began to pick corn off of the stalks.

Unlike with the sweet corn we often grow, I did not shuck it and bring it inside.  Instead, I left it to sit in baskets for later.  When the kernels are fully dried, we shuck, shell it, and put in jars.

This is how I harvest popcorn.

The indigenous peoples of Central and South America planted popcorn thousands of years ago.  Long before microwaves and melted butter and caramel were invented, the Aztecs were popping corn over fires.

Most people these days think that popcorn grows on grocery store shelves or in little baggies that farmers pick off of vines, ready for placement in microwaves.  Of course, since Orville Redenbacher's death, it isn't even clear that anyone raises popcorn...

Popcorn has very little nutritional value (and even less when you pour melted butter and salt over it).  A cup of popped popcorn has only thirty calories in it.

It seems to me that God created popcorn knowing that we humans need a healthy snack.  I suppose He could have created a world with three varieties of vegetables, a couple of protein options and left it at that, but He didn’t.  God made a world that has an immense amount of diversity and for that, I am grateful.

Being the loving Heavenly Father that He is, He knew that young humans would get hungry between meals and so He made something tastier than carrot sticks and celery.

God made popcorn, the perfect in between meals, low calorie snack – one more thing to be thankful for in a time of harvest.