Free is good

6:34 p.m. Today's project was to pick up our free "Pinkerton" avocado tree from Parkview Nursery. I had missed their closing time last night so after my Mary Kay glamour makeover appointments, I changed into "sensible shoes," unloaded the cosmetics from the bac of the Jeep, lined it with newspaper, and drove with Steve to the nursery.

Each year, the City of Riverside Public Utilities offers homeowners a free shade tree, but you must bring in your March utility bill with the offer printed on the other side. The offers expires June 30. We rarely miss a year, and as the trees grow, the shade they offer cuts our electric bill. I like the fact that a property shaded and almost hidden by trees benefits from God's gracious gift of "expiration," where green plants give off oxygen while "inspiration" removes carbon dioxide from the air! And when God's ideas are adopted by human governments for the good of the citizens, it's a win all around.

Three scriptures from Genesis came to my mind as we placed our tree in the garden for later planting. Genesis 1:11-13:

Then God said, "Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb that yields seed, and the fruit tree that yields fruit according to its kind, who seed is in itself, on the earth;" and it was so. And the earth brought forth grass, the herb that yields seed according to its kind, and the tree that yields fruit, whose seed is in itself according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. So the evening and the morning were the third day.

Genesis 2:8-9, 15:

The LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed. And out of the ground the LORD God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food...then the LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it.

Until the man and woman disobeyed God and ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, all went smoothly. Must have been like living in Hawaii! But the curse upon Adam regarding the earth's land soon came down from God:

"Cursed is the ground for your sake;

In toil you shall eat of it

All the days of your life.

Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you,

and you shall eat the herb of the field.

In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread

Till you return to the ground.

For out of it you were taken;

For dust you are,

And to dust you shall return."

So here we find ourselves today, dependent upon plants for our very oxygen, food, and food for the animals we consume, while we gardeners pay a physical price with our bodies for the shoveling, weeding, watering and harvesting of our land's produce. Since in our civilization we pay others to run machinery to harvest vast tracts of our land, we pay hard-earned money for the food we can't grow ourselves.

Yet God is still good, providing life in all its forms for our food! As Psalm 118:2-4 says, and I concur,

Let Israel now say,

"His mercy endures forever."

Let the house of Aaron now say,

"His mercy endures forever."

Let those who fear the Lord say,

"His mercy endures forever."