Giving Away the Farm

Our garden is loving these hot summer days. The cucumbers are growing like crazy; I have been making a batch of pickles almost every day. Each morning I go out to the garden, scanning between the flowers and leaves to see how many cucumbers I can find. They hang lush and green, ready to be picked and enjoyed. Sometimes the ones that aren't quite ready in the morning, have fully ripened by afternoon. I am averaging 4-6 pickling cucumbers every day, enough for a pint or two. 

Our tomatoes are starting to ripen too. Their skins are slowing deepening, from green to yellow to red, and soon we will have many coming in, hopefully enough to make a few batches of pasta and pizza sauce.

We have many different varieties of peppers coming in as well: jalapeños, bell, bajo and cayenne. I am looking forward to all of the mole, hot sauces, pepper jellies, poppers and other dishes we can make.

The most interesting plant we have this year is our tomatillos. These are often mistaken for green tomatoes, but when they grow, they come wrapped in a husk. They are too acidic to eat fresh, so they are typically roasted or boiled for soups and sauces. Tomatillos are a popular ingredient in many Mexican sauces and salsas. We planted 6 plants, and because it was such a hot summer, they got huge – 6-7 feet tall! We have hundreds of tomatillos growing on each of the plants. I have been doing a lot of research to try and find out what in the world I am going to do with all of them. 

      

 

I love the harvesting. There is nothing more satisfying than picking a pepper off the vine, knowing the work and luck that went into growing it. With such a bountiful harvest, I have an opportunity. My first tendency is to make sure my shelves are full, ready for the winter ahead before I begin to give. The problem with this thinking is, how do I decide when my shelves are full enough?

What if I give the harvest away first, before I fill my shelves?

Consider these words from Bob Goff, author of Love Does:

“Jesus was always talking about a reverse economy. He talked about how if you want to receive, you give. If you want to lead, you follow. That the poor are rich and you only really live for certain things if you are willing to die to them…following Jesus means doing the math differently…”

Am I willing to give away the harvest?  Do I believe Luke 6:38? 

I can tell you this, the more pickles I give away, the more cucumbers grow. Is this just coincidence, or could it be Jesus math? 

Bible reference:

Go and sell all your possessions and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me…and I assure you that everyone who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or property, for my sake and for the Good News, will receive now in return a hundred times as many houses, brothers, sisters, mothers, children, and property–along with persecution. And in the world to come that person will have eternal life.” 

“Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.”  Luke 6:38