Church is like an onion patch

For my writing class, I had to write two similes to describe "church". Last night I had a fit of inspiration and stayed up till midnight writing. This was the better of the two. Enjoy!

 (Not my picture)

There’s a plant in my garden known as a walking onion. Where we got the first one, I have no idea, but that one plant has become a patch measuring several square feet. Walking onions are used in cooking like other green onions. Its narrow, hollow stalks resemble large chives. Whenever I desire to use some in the kitchen, I simply step outside and pick whatever I need. 

It seemed to me that the church is rather like these walking onions. It grows in clumps, each bulb sending up several poking fronds. Seeing this reminded me of a family, and seeing all these “families” growing alongside each other reminded me of the church. The reason for the name “walking onion” is because when the plant comes to maturity, it bears fruit, in this case, onion bulbs. These bulbs are not like the big Vidalias you buy at the store, nor do they grow in the ground like those. These grow as a cluster of thumb-sized bulbs at the very top of the stalk. Eventually, the bulb cluster grows too heavy for the stalk to support. Whomp! The bulb pulls the stalk to the ground, taking a “step”, claiming new territory for the cause of onions. The newly fallen bulb plants itself in the ground, and will become a new plant the following year. 

Do you see how we are sort of like those onion plants? Not only are we growing alongside each other, but as our lives bear fruit, we are step by step gaining ground for the kingdom of God. Our usefulness is accomplished by bending, humbly accepting the will of our Lord. We are available as His servants whenever He needs us, even if that means being consumed. Like the onions’ distinct aroma, we bear the aroma of Christ. We are stronger (smelling) together! To some the aroma is pleasing, to others completely unappealing. Although we may spend our whole lives rooted in one spot, serving in the same region our parents did, we also may be transplanted by the Gardener to spread our kind in new and distant soil. As we grow, it’s not due to our own power and self-sufficiency. We are dependent on the One who gives sun, rain, and all increase. (1 Cor. 3:7)

Thankful Thursday: Luv My Sweet Potato Lunch

Hello again!

Isn't November the perfect month to pull out Thankful Thursdays again?

~

This year I decided not to join my family at our homeschool co-op (though I did love teaching math), choosing instead to spend that day of the week on my own studies, chores, projects, and keeping an eye on our old dog. One perk to this arrangement is that I get to make personal lunches, healthy, filling, and yummy!

I have no intention of making this a food blog, but I am thankful for good food. The sweet potato I grew myself. The salad I did not, although my garden did include lettuce, peppers, and cukes. The kefir in the smoothie was homemade, and some of the fruit came from a neighbor's yard. The recipe came from Trim Healthy Mama, our go-to cookbook nowadays. (E meal, THM fans?) 

The Lord upholds all who fall,
And raises up all who are bowed down.
 The eyes of all look expectantly to You,
And You give them their food in due season.
 You open Your hand
And satisfy the desire of every living thing.

Psalm 145:14-16

Seeing Red

We had a fantastic tomato harvest this year! I love growing tomatoes almost as much as I love eating them. :)

Laura was a great helper for picking the tomatoes. We had about 14 plants. Compare this picture to when we first planted!

We planted a couple varieties: I don't remember what the huge ones were, (Early Girl, maybe?), but the medium ones were Beefsteak (thanks, Ert!), the oblong ones were Roma, and of course the wee cherry tomatoes.

This is one day's pickings! It had been a few days since the last picking, but we were literally picking buckets at a time. The cone has cherry tomatoes in it.

This was the same day, but combined with the rest that we had on hand. There's no way we could eat them all raw (not everyone likes them as much as I do), so my mom has been making batches of tomato sauce.

 

Lunchtime! 

Garden!

 Laura sitting by her tomato plant she planted for me. It has a cage over it "so it can't escape".  :}

Introducing... "my" garden! This is our fourth and newest plot and is officially my responsibility. (Valerie has a plot to the immediate west and Stephanie has one near the tree line. Mom takes care of the Kitchen Garden.) In years past I haven't helped much with gardening but I wanted to this year. And I like it. I even like working with the aged horse manure, I mean, the dirt. ;) Tomatoes and sweet potatoes, yum!