By Wenda Garbau
From one generation to another
This year has been eventful and, as I write, it is only May. My dear mother passed away. My husband and daughter traveled out of the country for a mission trip. Briefly after their return, we all came down with COVID-19. We spent 35 days in quarantine.
Now that our health has been restored, it is time for farm work. My husband, with the help of friends and neighbors, has been able to put in the oat crop and is currently at work planting the corn.
He has had some time to work up our garden. He tilled it over and over again in order to convert the hard weedy soil into a soft bed in which the seeds and seedlings could be put to rest comfortably.
He recruited me to do some work, too. The bean poles we have set up harbored some pesky unwanted plants called “weeds.” My three-year-old grandson joined me. He had a small spade to work with, and I did the weed-pulling by hand. What a great time to talk to this little soul about the great things God has done!
We observed the black dirt together. He spent his time by shoveling up dirt and tossing it. Some of it flew and landed in my hair. Yet, after being corrected, he learned how to toss it away from grandma. Then we both enjoyed his little farming exercise.
I purposed to keep myself on task and pulled up grassy clumps of green. After shaking the dirt off of their roots, I showed my grandson the special way God made the roots as fine as hair so they could to feed and water the plants as they grew. Can you guess what happened next?
As he watched me pull weeds up from the soft earth, we exposed some valuable worms that God made to aerate the soil. (My grandson checked to see if the earthworms have eyes. He didn’t find any.) But grandma got to tell him how God has made the worms for the good of our soil and for our very garden!
We looked around the garden setting, and our eyes drank in the sight of pink and white blossoms adorning the fruit trees nearby. Again, I could tell him about the marvel of God at work making apples and pears in our yard.
Looking back, I recall how not many years ago I taught these same lessons to my own dear children. It reminds me of a Bible verse. Psalm 145:4 says, “One generation shall praise Your works to another, and shall declare Your mighty acts.”
What a privilege for me to tell another generation, my grandson, of the works that God has done and is doing. You may not even be a parent, but you can still tell the next generation about our Creator God. Nature displays his handiwork. Use the wonders of nature as a springboard to pass on to a younger person or even a child what God has done for you.
Here is a fun addition to your recipe box…Dirt Dessert.
Dirt Dessert
1 new 8-9 inch flower pot (glazed clay or plastic)*
½ stick softened margarine,
1 ½ lb. package of Oreo cookies
1-8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1-8 oz. frozen whipped topping
½ c. powdered sugar
1 ½ small packages instant vanilla pudding
2 cups milk
In a large bowl, mix cream cheese and margarine. Mix with powdered sugar, pudding and milk. Add whipped topping. Crumble the cookies with a rolling pin till they resemble dirt.
Layer cookie crumbs and cream filling in flower pot, starting and ending with cookie crumbs on the top. Chill.
To serve, stick an artificial flower in the pot, place gummy worms around the top cookie layer. Serve with a new garden trowel.
*Two 6-inch pots may also be used
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