Simple Is Better – An Abundance of Cucumbers

Matthew 25:40: The king will answer, “Whenever you did it for any of my people, no matter how unimportant they seemed, you did it for me.”

Gratitude Day 957

This has been the summer of a ridiculous number of cucumbers.

Seriously.

Historically, Hubby Rick has grown great gardens. Every summer, we give away lots of veggies. Tomatoes, peppers, green beans and more. This summer? The cucumber plants have outdone themselves. Maybe it was the right combination of heat and humidity. Clearly, our cucumber plants loved both. Because when it came time for them to make veggies, they did.

Early in the cucumber harvesting season, it was a 5-gallon bucket every 2 days. Not. Kidding. Big ones. Little ones. In-between ones. Sometimes, they get a little too big and we just throw them into the pasture for the cattle. One heifer gobbles them right up.

On Monday, I went to the garden while Rick hauled milk. I came home with lots of veggies including a nice bucket of cucumbers. Fortunately, I got rid of them. On Thursday, Rick brought TWO buckets of cucumbers home. What am I to do with ALL these cucumbers? I’ve canned, made cucumber dishes and given away 20-25 5-gallon buckets of cucumbers this summer. Seriously. I haul a bucket with me regularly and pawn them off on everyone. Rick says we can just stop picking them. This goes against everything I’ve been taught. I just need to keep giving them away. Right?

Sometimes, this is how life works. We have such an abundance of one thing that we may not fully appreciate this gift in our lives. On the flipside, we often feel like something important to us is rather scarce. If only we had a little more ____, life would be so much better.

So which is more challenging? Too much or not enough? Overflowing amounts or wondering where your next meal will come from? Only you can answer this for yourself.

As I haul around these buckets of veggies, I think of those people who are begging for food. How I wish I could make these veggies available to those who have no clue where they next meal will come from. In reality, we don’t really have a quantity of food problems in this world. We have a distribution problem and lack the resources to get the food in the right places.

Rarely have I ever wondered where my next meal would come from. There have been a few times when I became anxious because food resources were very low. But I haven’t experienced a shortage of food for days on end. Or not accessible clean drinking water. Somehow, things have also worked out.

Yet, there are plenty of people around the world who do not have access to the food they need. It’s heartbreaking to see the pictures and hear their stories. Sometimes, a person’s choices impact their future. Other times, it’s really out of his or her control. Often, we like to stand on the sidelines and access what is going on. I remind myself that there is often more going on in every situation than I realize. Rather than assuming what is going on, if possible, maybe our best response is to take our abundant resources and made them available to others in need.

Too often, we live with a scarcity mentality. We decide our resources are too limited and must keep them for ourselves. I have discovered that releasing these resources and assets and letting others benefit from my limited resources is personally rewarding. Shifting my perspective from “not quite enough” to “more than enough” has changed how I look at the abundance in my life.

Sometimes it’s natural to want to keep all the good for us. When we open up our hearts and minds and let generosity guide us, we discover new things about ourselves, God and the world around us.

It’s not lost on me: letting go of cucumbers is easy. Letting go of other things? A lot more challenging. When we see a need in our little view of the world, often our first reaction is to assume this need should be met by someone else. Maybe, just maybe, this opportunity is in our view because we have an opportunity to make a difference. When we open ourselves to live more in abundancy than scarcity, we find ourselves a bit more generous with all of the resources available to us. Gratitude fills our hearts because we appreciate every little bit in our lives. And we find ourselves in a place where we can make a tiny little difference.

This is the heart I believe God yearns for us to have. One filled with eyes that seek how we can make a difference when we see how abundantly blessed we are. In reality, most of us ARE blessed. The resources at our disposal are greater than most in the world. Yes, there will always be those with more resources than we have. When we look at our resources from this perspective, then we fail to fully appreciate what we have and how we can bless others with what is available to us.

Giving away cucumbers is easy. Releasing our time and resources is probably more challenging. May I encourage you to look at what is available within your view right now. Does your heart see these resources with a sense of abundance or scarcity? Is there a way you can bless someone else with the resources you have been blessed with? How might you leverage what you have for the glory and goodness of God’s kingdom?

Blessings –

Dianne

Holy God – Thank you for the abundance in my life. Whether it’s too many cucumbers or blessings that are outreach my needs, may I appreciate the generosity that surrounds me. Help keep my heart in a place of abundance rather than scarcity. May I see the resources in my life as opportunities to share Your goodness with others. Whether it is time, talents or other resources, open my heart and mind to how I can abundantly bless others with the resources available to me. Amen.

Looking for a bit of daily inspiration? Check out my daily affirmation posts on Facebook and Instagram (Dianne Deaton Vielhuber and Simple Words of Faith.)

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