Plants, God and Salsa

I was doing some gardening today (a rare activity in a home which, like most Brazilian homes, contains no green yard space) which in our house takes the form of cutting dead leaves and small branches from potted plants and watering them. My mom and I love green things, so we have probably about three dozen potted growing things in our home and tiled yard space. As I worked, I was reminded of the passage in John 15 where Jesus says,

"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. ²He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. ³You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. ... If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. ⁶If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned."

Some of the plants I was tending were healthy and had no dead leaves or unnecessary branches. Others had not had appropriate care for a while and were in rather a sad state, though not beyond saving. The most challenging was a large fern at the back of our outside corridor. A whole bottom layer of fronds had turned brown and dry while fresh bright green ones grew higher up and weeds flourished in the surrounding soil. The thing with this kind of fern is that there are tiny thorns all over the frond stems, making them difficult to handle. I tried cutting them off with the kitchen scissors, but found the thick stalks needed something stronger. I headed for our tool box and found some old shears that had not been used for... years. After some effort sharpening them I found they did the trick, although it ended up being easier to use them to completely tear each frond from the main stalk than to cut them off. Finally, only fresh, green leaves remained, I had removed most of the clover-like wees and I got on with other things.

So now for the analogy part: how many "dead" or "dieing" parts exist in our lives? Things that need to be pruned so the rest of the plant continues to grow strong, healthy and beautiful? Has the Lord been indicating anything in your (or my) life recently that needs to be cleared away? Are we resistent to that? I've found that one kind of "pruning" the Lord does is helping me stop activities that are not essential to what he is calling me to do in order to focus more on the main tasks and "bear more fruit". What activities do you need to stop this next year? On what ones should you spend even more time?

How about sin? Do we have sins that we are hesitant to have removed, torn from the very place where they connect to the stalk, where they suck life out of an otherwise vibrant creation of our Lord's? Or are we eager to have the undergrowth cleared away so we can more freely "run... the race marked out for us" (Heb. 12:1)? Recently there have often been torrential rains here in São Paulo, sometimes upsetting carefully laid plans, increasing traffic and causing destruction to structures that are not well enough built. However, they are also the reason for the fresh, green fronds on my fern and that residents of São Paulo will not have to worry about water shortage for a very long time (the reservoir down the hill from my home is filled to over-flowing). How is God using unwelcome challenges to bring new growth in our lives, to bring life where things were dieing?

As I got done with my version of gardening, it was about time for lunch. However, it was too hot to want the beans, rice and chicken I had ready in the fridge and I was out of sandwich bread. I procrastinated for a while until inspiration hit. I had recently discovered tortillas for sale at the grocery store near my home! Brazilians have been very slow warming up to Mexican food (they're not so into spicy, avocadoes are DEFINITELY meant to be eaten sweet and whats this idea of smothering wonderful white rice in tomatoe sauce and mashing perfectly good beans into mush?) but they might finally be getting used to the idea - or at least some of it.

After making some delicious quesadillas especially spiced from a container claiming to contain "alho, cebola e salsa" (garlic, onion and... salsa? After tasting it I came to the conclusion that it must mean salsinha, a green Brazilian herb... like I said Brazilians are not into spicy, with the exception of the Northeast of Brazil and the contents of this container was definitely green not red) I finished up with an apple and peanut butter. After this most-satisfying mixture of Brazilian, American and Mexican tastes that no self-respecting Brazilian, American or Mexican would probably ever come up with, I decided to leave my sink-full of dishes for another time and headed back to my computer to work. Sometimes its so much fun being multi-cultural. Other times its a complete drag, like when I don't get the joke in the US or in Brazil, but at least that's happening less and less as I grow older and get to know both cultures better. I have never been to Mexico but plan to get there as soon as possible. I can claim to know something of genuine Mexican food from having a mom who spent 8th grade there (and grades 1-7 in Guatemala, where the cuisine is fairly similar. Also, she and all of her siblings started learning to cook as soon as they could walk), an aunt who lives there and a Mexican roommate in college who cooked for us fairly frequently. Btw, Veronica, you were the one that taught me to actually like spicy on some occasions! Congratulations!

Love and blessings,

Rachel