Another Life Lesson

Once upon a time I had a nice collection of heirloom vegetable seeds. In my best Mother Earth intentions, I felt it was a good thing to keep the staples of our grandparents’ pantry alive and (pardon the pun) fruitful in our lives today. I would search through online seed catalogs and order heirloom versions of the veggies and fruits I would plant anyway. It was a small step in keeping the in touch with the past while feeding my family in the future but I enjoyed it.

Did you notice the word ‘enjoyed’ in the last sentence was past tense?

That’s because one fateful day I discovered my entire stash of beloved heirloom seeds had been raided and destroyed by a pesky critter(s) of small proportions; the little ones that scurry around in the dark, twitching their little whiskers and poaching ones dreams and efforts…mice had discovered and consumed my seeds leaving nothing in their wake but pieces and bits. This, Friends, is one of the down sides of country living; the critters came first and claim squatter’s rights.

The sad, sad tale of the heirloom seeds happened a few years ago. In a more recent situation…oh, say two days past….I walked confidently to my own pantry to retrieve a bag of brown rice to prepare for the evening’s dinner. Upon measuring out the rice I noticed some of it was moving…..huh? Then to my great surprise, some of it took off in flight! Closer inspection revealed that some how, some way a winged critter of some sort had made its way into the rice bag and transformed it into a critter condo for the next generation of winged critters….they looked liked tiny little moths. What makes this incredible to me is that the closed bag of rice was stored in a closed plastic container that was in my closed pantry cabinet. Needless to say…we did not have brown rice with dinner that evening; though I did get to chew on some meaty words from Matthew 6:19-21…

Do not gather and heap up and store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust and worm consume and destroy, and where thieves break through and steal. But gather and heap up and store for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust nor worm consume and destroy, and where thieves do not break through and steal; For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

Matthew 6:25-26 also says….

Therefore I tell you, stop being perpetually uneasy (anxious and worried) about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink; or about your body, what you shall put on. Is not life greater [in quality] than food, and the body [far above and more excellent] than clothing? Look at the birds of the air; they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father keeps feeding them. Are you not worth much more than they?

There is a lesson in there……..