A Parable of Zucchini

 

Lo, on a certain day in the year of Our Lord 2023, I went forth to my Garden and behold, it was more like to a very weedy field than to the Garden of Eden.  Yet, even in the midst of the weeds, a few plants did fight a desperate battle for survival against the tangle of invaders.

To one of these plants I went and stooping, I collected not one, but two cylindrical vegetables.  Proudly, I returned to the house with my new friends tagging along.

“Look, O children!”  I crowed, holding a loft what I had found.  “Thy Father, Master Gardener that he is, hath discovered not one, but two zucchinis in our garden.”

Forthwith, my son Elliot, made a terrible groaning sound, like unto a door turning upon very rusty hinges.  If I did not know better, I would have suspected he had some dread malady like The Flux or perhaps Squinsy.  “O, My Father,” spake he.  “Far be it from me to Rain on Thy Parade, but lo, it is but a few days since thou didst last plunder the garden.  On that day, like today, the only thing we gained by it was an Awful Big Zucchini.”

Verily, my younger son well-nigh despises squash, even as a forest fire fears a heavy rain.  Though, as far as I can discern, the zucchini plants have never done him any harm.

“O, My Father,” spake he once more.  “Why didst the Creator make something like zucchini and further, in a world with freedom of choice, why wouldst thou plant such a thing in a beautiful garden like ours?”

“I know not the answer to thy first question,” I said.  “Although perhaps twas that when Adam fled the Garden to earn his keep by the sweat of his brow, God decided to give him a little boon – a plant that would bear well, even when all other vegetables fail.”

“As for the second question,” I continued.  “Thy mother and I both like zucchini – hence our willingness to foist this gourd shaped cross on our family.”

As I contemplate zucchini, I see little reason for hatred.  Seldom does one actually taste the squash.  Instead, the zucchini adds moisture and texture, even while the other ingredients have room to be themselves.  For zucchini is not like pumpkin or corn, where it needs to be the center of attention in a recipe, but rather it enhances the other ingredients to create such a delight as zucchini bread.

I wonder if we could do better at emulating zucchini in our lives.  It would be a veritable blessing if we were able to enhance every situation we find ourselves in, without requiring those who are around us to conform themselves to our likeness.

Therefore did the Apostle Paul say, "Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God."  (Romans 15:7)

A world in which each one of us attempted to enhance the qualities of others, rather than forcing them to become feeble images of ourselves, would be a wondrous place.  Let us then act like zucchinis, loving and encouraging others around us to be their best selves.