A few years ago, I was gifted a farm share from a local farm. I had no say in what I received every week; I just got whatever they were harvesting at the time. Sometimes I hoped for vegetables that I was used to using like tomatoes and summer squash and beans. And sometimes I received those. But I also received produce that I had never learned how to use before like kohlrabi, bok choy, and celeriac. At first these new-to-me vegetables felt like a burden. I didn’t feel like I had the time and mental capacity to look up and try new recipes, especially if one of them flopped and I had to go back to the drawing board. I had all this free produce and sometimes I let it go to waste because I was more comfortable with my familiar foods.

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It took an overall shift in my way of thinking to see the abundance that I had been given. It took reprioritizing my time to see the fruits that this produce I did not choose could bear. The new recipes I devoted the time and energy to learn were a boon. But so were the connections I made when I reached out to others who were more familiar with these vegetables than I was. Perhaps the greatest win to come from this experience was the appreciation for hidden abundance in new situations. I didn’t just learn new recipes; I learned a new way to see life’s unexpected gifts.

               

A few weeks ago, we learned that the trees Johnny Appleseed planted produced apples that were so sour, they were unfit to eat. His efforts would seem like a waste if he intended to grow tasty fruit for a snack, or even for baking. But he was actually planting those trees for cider. Cider was safer to drink than fresh water and cider press gatherings were areas for communal connection. I sometimes wonder if we are trying to eat the apples God is giving us to make cider with. Over and over again in our sacred text we read about God’s abundance. And yet, we often act as if we are surrounded by scarcity. Could it be that God is calling us in a new direction and providing the ingredients we need to answer that call? Can we step out of our comfort zone and learn new ways of thinking about God’s abundance? Beloveds, I believe that when we see scarcity in our familiar places, it’s because God is providing an abundance of ingredients to try something new. It is up to us to prayerfully search for them and discern their use. Our hope comes from our trust in God’s steadfast love and generous gifts. Our joy comes not simply from moving away from emptiness and despair, but toward something new and abundant.

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~Pastor Alison