Memories of Gardening Days Gone By...

In 1997 my family moved from Houston to a small Southeast Texas town by the name of Spurger. (It's pronounced like burger with an Sp in place of the B.) Many of you have never heard of this beautiful little out of the way place, but it exists at the corner of FM 1013 and Highway 92 in Tyler County. Although we only lived in Spurger several years, this little community sowed its roots deep into our hearts and produced many precious memories for our family.

Spurger is where my son, Jordon, and I spent hours waging war with his BB gun on all the Red Wasps, Yellow Jackets, and Hornets seeking a free meal from the pears rotting under the tree by the parsonage. Jordon is an excellent rifle shot today... I credit the time spent aiming at a winged insect as tantamount to the reason why. Great adventures were had under that pear tree as he and I devised our battle strategies in the blistering heat of the summer sun. Although only seven at the time, he was capable of executing military commands with such precision that Patton would have been proud. Those pesky critters with craving appetites never had a fighting chance as we stormed their strongholds and demolished their defenses. When the flying armies we opposed were unalarmed by our presence, Jordon would be the long distance sniper, taking out the enemy with incredible stealth. When the defenses were raised I would sometimes take over the rifleman duties so as to fire rapidly, often in self-defense. Of course both of us were barefoot and treading carefully was a necessity. One wrong step onto a large ‘bull’ Yellow Jacket would send you doing the one-legged Watusi away from the field of battle as you headed to triage for wound treatment.

Oh the memories that flood my mind as I think of those wonder years. More precious than gold are the memories of good times gone by.

Spurger is also were I learned to garden. On the side of the parsonage, not far from the pear tree was my first garden site. There is where the soil was tilled, rows were created, and seed was planted. There was where many mornings found me hopping out of bed, jerking on my jeans and hurrying out the door to inspect the rows for growth that occurred overnight. There was where I had my first hands-on experience with God’s “Law of the Harvest.”

The Law of the Harvest states that what is sowed will be what is reaped. Since I sowed corn seed in my garden I would reap ears of corn from the stalk. Since I sowed beans, I would reap beans. Upon sowing potatoes, I would reap potatoes as I scratched them from the fertile soil. Never one time did I plant a seed that did not produce a crop according to its kind. It was a sure thing: what I sowed in that garden produced more of what was planted… every time.

This same Law applies to our relationships and the fruit we should bear in the Christian life. Galatians 6:7 says, “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.” With abounding clarity, God’s Word confirms the Law of the Harvest to be just as applicable to our everyday lives as it is to the farmer sowing seed in his garden. When we sow kindness, we reap kindness. When we sow peace, we reap peace. When we sow love, love is what we can expect to reap. Conversely, when anger, discord, hatred, impurity, crankiness and bitterness are sown, these are guaranteed to be reaped as well. God’s Law of the Harvest is an unbreakable, unbendable law. That which one sows, that will one reap, it’s as simple as that. So, my question for you is this – what kind of seed have you sown today? Think about it and then do some planning on what you plan to plant the rest of today, and tomorrow, and the day after that.

And by the way… if you don’t know what the one-legged Watusi is, you’ve never stepped on a ‘bull’ Yellow Jacket barefooted.