A Few Cloves of Garlic

Last fall, around the middle of October, I performed an act of faith.  I took some garlic bulbs and carefully tilled some ground in my garden and then planted them in a (fairly straight) row.  Finally, I mulched them under a thick bed of straw.

All winter long, I did nothing to them.  I didn't water them.  I didn't weed them.  I didn't read these tiny bulbs stories, play the tuba for them or, do an interpretive dance for them.  I just left them alone, knowing that I had done what I could and that God would do the rest.

Now, this spring, there are nice green stalks poking above the ground to show where the garlic was planted last fall.  Now, I can't say that every clove came up, but enough has that it definitely was worth my while.

While I waited six or seven months for the results of my garlic planting, there are other things, like asparagus or fruit trees, where the results come years down the road.

There are many times that I do the same things in life.  As I speak to my patients, I am often trying to plant little seeds of encouragement to see them improve their health.  Often these seeds lie dormant for many moons, which is more than a little discouraging.  Every so often, someone chooses to act on my encouragement and that is enough reason to continue on.

Even more important are the seeds that I sow for Jesus.  For, He is the one who truly provides healing and makes a difference in hurting lives.  While it is an act of faith to share my experiences with others, once again, it is sowing a seed that may sprout in time.

I will keep sowing these seeds, for while everyone will not grow and bear fruit, even a few makes it worthwhile.  So much more so than planting a few cloves of garlic.

Baking a Few Loaves

A woman settles down in her little Jewish home to bake some bread. It’s not an easy task. She has no refrigerator, no modern appliances, she has only her hands and a little wood stove to bake with, yet somehow, as usual the bread turns out.

The next day, her young son grabs up a few small loaves as he runs out the door. She calls him back, telling him that bread is not enough to feed a growing boy: “Take these fish too.” She says. He does so and then runs off.

That evening her son returns home with a fantastic story. Her bread, just baked the day before, had been divided to feed 5000 people! They had all shared that and the fish – there was even some left over!

What did she think, this little Jewish mother? Did she wish for the loaves back again so she could have baked them better? Would she have used better ingredients if she had known Jesus would be eating them?

We of course, don’t know the answer to any of these questions. Yet, I am certain that this woman would have put extra effort into baking if she had known so many people would be eating the fruits of her labors.

Anything worth doing is worth doing well. God wants to use the fruit of our labors too. Yet, so often we turn in suboptimal efforts that He is scarcely able to use.

God despises lukewarmness. Mediocrity is the antithesis of the Christian life – it is all or nothing. He wants our best, or nothing at all!

So, when you bake bread, or do any of the other “menial” chores that crowd our days, make special effort. You too may find out, like a Jewish mother so long ago, what the Master can do with a few loaves of bread.

Zika Virus

Zika Virus has not reached Indiana -- at least not in any significant numbers.  It is true, that there have been a few cases of people who have travelled elsewhere and brought it back to the state, but in general, it isn't here.  It won't likely come here in significant numbers either.  The mosquito which carries it, the Aedes Aegypti, apparently finds our winters a little too cold to want to live around here.

I suppose, I should back track, since not every one knows what Zika Virus is.  Zika Virus is (as its name implies) a virus.  It is carried by mosquitoes and generally causes a flu like illness, with fevers, body aches, tired feelings, and sometimes a rash.  Most people don't suffer serious complications from it and get over it in a few days, but unfortunately, when pregnant women get this, the virus causes significant problems for the baby, in particular causing poor brain development and microcephaly in many cases.

Zika Virus has been around since the 1950s in Asia, but in 2015, it came to Central and South America, where it has been wrecking havoc.  In fact, the country of El Salvador recommended that women in their country not get pregnant for the next two years while they try to figure things out.  Poor countries are trying to figure out what to do in this chaotic situation.

As of right now, there is no vaccine or cure for the disease.

It is, perhaps, easy for people living in Indiana to think to themselves:  "Well, that's their problem.  Hope they get figured out, but at least it isn't coming here," even as they cancel their trips to the Caribbean.  Our tendency as humans, is to care about things as they affect us as individuals, or people that we know.  The farther something is from our home and the places we go, the less we care about it and the less we are inclined to try to help.

Zika Virus will likely come to the southern United States and perhaps that alone makes it worthy of our interest, but I would hope that the fact that this disease affects humans would be enough to make us care. 

I hear politicians say that we are too poor to help others around the world and that it isn't in our interest to help them, anyway.  I would pray that we are never too poor to give to those in need.  For whether it is Zika Virus or, Ebola Virus, or some unknown disease next year, helping those who are suffering, regardless of our own self-interest, is the loving thing to do. 

That's plenty of reason, in my book, to care.

A Worm Named Sherry

The rain was pelting down outside and for some reason or other, my children, Anna and Elliot insisted on being out in it.  Anna has always loved the rain, but Elliot had another interest.

A door slammed shut and Elliot came sprinting in, holding something in his hand.  "Dad," he said.  "I've got a new friend!  Her name is Sherry."  He lifted his hand so I could see more clearly.  "She's a worm," he said proudly.

Which is worse, a boy name Sue, or a worm named Sherry?

"Elliot," I said.  "You should take Sherry back outside.  Mom really doesn't want earth worms in the house."

"But Dad," he said.  "We have a lot in common.  She likes dirt and I like dirt too.  And I don't like getting wet and she doesn't either.  I'm going to keep her inside until it stops raining."

With that, he ran off to introduce Sherry to his mother.

I am not sure what inspired Elliot to show kindness to a worm.  Certainly he thought that they had some sort of commonality that wasn't as obvious to me as it was to him, but at the same time, he struggles to show kindness to his older brother and sister.

Sometimes, I guess, it is easier to get along with a worm that you don't really know, than with folks that you know really well.  I suppose that is why John had to tell the early church:  "And this commandment we have from Him:  whoever loves God must also love his brother."  (I John 4:21).

Whether or not it is a struggle at times, we are called to love the people closest to us.  It certainly won't always be easy, but to love our brothers and sisters is a true demonstration of Christian love.

Much more so than showing love to a worm named Sherry.