Julie Lavender

CONSIDER THE CORN
by Julie Lavender

I’ll admit that I didn’t enjoy garden work as a kid, but I certainly enjoyed the byproducts in the late summer and early fall.

CORN ON THE COB

I loved fresh corn on the cob!

We didn’t have a lot of extras, growing up as a farming family. I didn’t necessarily consider our harvest a ‘bounty,’ rather, a yummy reward for our early morning forays into the fields. As an adult, I certainly recognize the blessings of that garden on my childhood.

In fact, it most likely saved us from empty bellies more often than I care to admit, especially that year that my father lost his truck-driving job to those who had union cards.

A BOUNTY OF BLESSINGS

I think I’m guilty of overlooking many of God’s blessings as ‘bounty.’ Yes, I try to thank God for His gifts, but I know I fall short daily. And even when I do thank Him, I probably don’t recognize the true treasure He’s given me until long after the gift.

Very little of the planted corn in America finds its way to the family table. More than 90 million acres of land sprouts lush green corn stalks, according to a USDA website. Most of the crop eventually becomes food for livestock, but a large portion of it is also used for fuel ethanol, industrial alcohol, corn oil, various sweeteners, starch, and some pharmaceutical products.

Bounty indeed! So much treasure from one of God’s masterpieces, the corn plant.  

A WALK IN THE CORNFIELD

Wandering through the cornfield on my walk in the country reminded me that God’s blessings to me overflow in abundance.

Thank you, God, for fresh corn that filled poor tummies and gardens that sustained a family. Thank you, God, for your bountiful creations that sustain a country in more ways than I can fathom and forgive me when I forget to thank you for those blessings.  

                                       

What about you? What bounty has God crowned you with this year? I have a first grandbaby coming in mid-December that's overflowing my heart with abundance!! Comment below on God's bounty in your life and join the conversation.