In the midst of our economic recession, prices are skyrocketing especially when it comes to dairy and fresh fruit and vegetables. I read yesterday that cases of infection and diseases such as cellulitis are becoming commonplace in children from lower socioeconomic families. It has been a long time since I brought fruit and vegetables from the supermarket because the prices border on extortion!
Yesterday whilst visiting my friend I took a walk around her garden and found some apple trees, rhubarb and parsley growing,none of which she will use-they will simply rot away. My friend is not the only one, how many people have fruit growing in their back yard that they simply leave to fall on the ground?
Now when I look back to our Grandmothers during the war not one thing went to waste, those lemons would have been turned into marmalade or cordial, the rhubarb stewed and added to hot Oatmeal and the parsley added to one dish or the other. Old shirts were turned into girls dresses, sheets were cut down the middle and the outsides turned in and sewn to get even more wear. Comparing this to the absolute wastefulness of the society we live in is remarkable. If we just shared what we never used imagine the outcome. Children would not go to school hungry, disease would slow considerably and communities would come together to help each other.
My daughter and I sat last night talking about the blessings God has bestowed upon our lives and decided with the surplus God has given us from our own backyard we would begin next week making chutneys,canning fruit and making relishes to distribute at the Salvation Army to give out in Christmas food packages, so far it is not much but it is a start.
2 Corinthians 9:7 says that our giving is not to be done “grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. We should not give because we feel we have to but because in our hearts we truly want to reach out with the love of Christ.
No comments:
Post a Comment