Joel 2:21-27
You will have plenty to eat, until you are
full, and you will praise the name of the LORD
your God, who has worked wonders for you… (v. 26)
I spent my childhood on a farm. We grew lots of plants and
animals. At different times we had fields of wheat or alfalfa or peaches; barns
full of turkeys or pigs; and sheep or goats or cattle out in the pasture. My
parents also had a garden full of vegetables. I guess you could say my mom and
dad “lived off the land.” They depended on rain and weather patterns to nurture
plants until it was time for harvest. Then they prayed the rain would stop so
the hay could be cut and bailed or the peaches would not freeze. And there was
always the threat of damaging hailstorms to worry about.
I honestly wonder sometimes how they did it and then I
remember. My parent’s faith in God was strong. My dad read from his Holy Bible
to his family every night before bedtime, and we all prayed the Lord’s Prayer
together. We attended church on Sundays.
If you came to our house you went home with a bag full of vegetables or fruit.
We always had enough to eat and enough to give away.
So many years ago when my dad and I were talking about
church he asked me if we tithed. He said that giving a tithe was a good thing
to do. And he said he’d never been sorry
because it always came back as a blessing.
Heavenly Father,
You give us so much. Some of us are blessed with time, some
of us with talents, and some of us with money or produce. Help us to share our
first fruits with our neighbors near and far away. We want to please you in all
that we do! In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
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