Sweet Corn!

As you know, a few months ago I planted a small garden in a raised bed eight feet on a side. I planted corn, radishes, peas, tomatoes and beets. I started a little late in the season, so I wasn't sure everything would come up. Well, most came up. I had bunches of tender radishes, most of which found their way into a several sandwiches. We have been munching on sweet green pea pods for two weeks now, right off the vine. We have more tomatoes than we know what to do with. But it is the corn I have been waiting for. I have fourteen thriving corn stalks, each with one or two budding ears, growing fuller and sweeter each day. 

Today I could wait no longer. I decided to pick the largest ear. I did so at 2 p.m. An hour later, that ear had been photograph, shucked, cooked, buttered and consumed. It was very tasty.

As I examined the ear of corn on my plate before eating it, I noticed the kernels, fairly bursting with the stuff of life. I am grateful for seeds of all kinds. They are a gift from God, surely. If we nurture every gift from God, whether they be seeds or otherwise, God will bless us.  

When my repast was finished, however, I was struck with how quick the meal had been, almost fleeting. It was, for the most part, a temporal pleasure. I thought about the hours I and others had spent constructing the garden plot, planting the seeds, fertilizing and watering them. Then nurturing the tiny plants, watching them grow, anticipating the fruit thereof. Even though food for our bodies is a necessary condition of mortality, only food for the soul lasts for more than a moment. No wonder prophets have long counseled us to "feast on the word of God."