Taking and Giving

When we moved away from Statesville, we were very sad. We lost our house, and we lost our beautiful yard. And Adam lost his garden.

He'd worked so hard on the soil and the raised beds. When we were in the mountains, we didn't garden. And our tiny yard here at the duplex has no room for gardening. I have one rosemary bush and some oregano in pots.
Then, the other day Adam was chatting with a friend. The friend manages some property in this area and told Adam he had some raised beds that no one was using, and would Adam like to garden in a couple of them?

Now those are some raised beds! They're huge! And the soil is gorgeous in them, and never used. Adam's arthritis won't bother him nearly so much, gardening in these beauties.
It's about five minutes' drive from our house. He went today, January 19, and planted lettuces, peas, cabbage, broccoli, and spinach. We'll have a cold snap this week, but I wouldn't be surprised if, after that, the weather gradually warms and spring is on the way soon. That's the Deep South for you :)  Fresh veggies this year!

Job said, "The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord." It's painful when things are taken away. Why should some people have homes and yards and gardens, and other people have none? But that is God's providence. And how beautiful, how loving it is when God gives again. And as is His way, when he gives again, He gives better than what He took away. There is great comfort in that, as I'm sure Job discovered.

The ultimate take-away is death. The ultimate giving-again is eternal life on a new earth. It will be better than anything we leave here.