Zucchini galore!

Alison is on leave until Monday 2 May. In the meantime, here’s a note from Yvonne’s garden. She wrote it after sending in the umpteenth box of zucchini, tomatoes and rainbow chard to Sanctuary for distribution from the bottom of the stairs. Yvonne writes:

Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. (2 Corinthians 9:6)

This summer, I’ve not been able to keep up with the production level. I’ve learned that one punnet of tomato seedlings plus one punnet of zucchini seedlings plus one packet of rainbow chard seeds (from the packet we were given at a Sanctuary service) equals … an overabundance of produce!

It reminds me of a sermon I heard recently regarding a certain young boy’s lunch. I think Someone is trying to teach us something here!?! And maybe also about Spiritual fruit? Words like ‘abundance’, ‘growth’, ‘generosity’ and ‘sharing’ all spring to mind.

I’ve also been learning about the better outcomes from pruning and staking zucchini and tomatoes, so they grow towards the heavens. You can produce healthier stronger plants that take up less room, and have less risk of pests and mildew, and you can better see to harvest them. Which means maybe I’ll pick the zucchini before they become baseball bats!

I can’t say I enjoy it when I feel like God is staking and pruning me. But maybe it means I’m growing towards the heavens. And hopefully it will lead to good, healthy fruit — in me! Ω

Reflect: Have you ever felt like God was staking or pruning you? What was lost? What was gained? How did you grow?

If you liked this reflection, you might also enjoy Beth’s 2021 reflection on pruning, here.

And remember to look out for our excess produce trolley at the bottom of the stairs – and to send in your  excess produce if you’d like to make it available to the folks who wander through the heart of town.

Emailed to Sanctuary 20 April 2022 © Sanctuary, 2022. Photo by Alain Ernst on Unsplash.