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There is a feral tomato plant growing in my yard.  How it got there, I have no idea.  Not only did I not plant it, in the two and a half years that we've lived in this house, we've never planted tomatoes--haven't planted vegetables of any kind. In fact, last year I planted an African Daisy right where that tomato plant now sits, yet, we now have a tomato plant growing.

It isn't just growing there; somehow, despite my neglect, it's thriving!  I haven't watered it.  I haven't pulled the weeds behind it that are twice as tall and taking over the box hedge next to it.  I haven't even staked it---it droops over the edge of the stone planter, vines stretching toward the ground.  Still, it is the most successful tomato plant I have grown in the 8 years I've lived in St. Louis.

The largest of the oblong fruits are now the size of small avocados, and it's continuing to make flowers---rice-sized tomatoes emerging, racing to grow big like their brothers.  They're all still green and I'm holding my breath.  Holding my breath and praying that they're ripe before the contractor we've hired to tear up our yard/driveway/patio can work us into his schedule.  "We must save these tomatoes," I tell Steve, and he agrees.  He's keeping an eye on them too.

Now this tomato saga may sound silly--it may actually be silly--but I love tomatoes.  And I love what this plant is reminding me: God's got this. On days when all the news is bad and I want to crawl back into bed, God's got this. On days when I'm frustrated and sad, or angry beyond belief, God's got this. This tomato plant reminds me that who of us by worrying can add a single tomato to our volunteer tomato plant? It reminds me that it's okay to trust that God is looking out for me in ways I can't even begin to imagine.

This is not a reason for me to throw up my hands and stop participating in making the world a more loving, more just, more peaceable place; it doesn't mean that my life will never be turned upside down; but it is a reminder that whatever comes, I'm held in a web of care based purely on God's love of me. I didn't do anything to earn it; I can't do anything to lose it; it just is. God's got it, and God cares for me.

What is true for me is also true for you. God has you. You are part of a web of love and care. May your days be filled with constant reminders of the web of care God wraps around each of us. May you be strengthened by these reminders, and may you continually become part of the web of care for this world God loves so much.

 

Peace to you,
Pastor Maggie