PHOTO BY BRAD CAMPBELL Hood River, Oregon, fresh market

Hi, all! 

The smell of wet earth. The itch from the occasional mosquito bite. The warm sun as it beats down upon your neck. The satisfaction of work well done. These are just a few of the things you can experience while tending to a garden plot or picking a basket full of fresh vegetables.

These tables full of fresh produce were part of an open-air market in downtown Hood River, Oregon. We wandered among the tents, listening to the live guitar playing and singing, and admired the home-grown vegetables, the fresh-baked breads of many kinds, the beautiful fresh flowers, and jars of local honey and homemade jelly. There’s just something about shopping in a situation like this, where you aren’t having to push a grocery buggy or figure out the non-existent price stickers on various items. To peruse the fruits and veggies, almost always from the very person who grew them, is to witness the labors of those who toiled the ground, to catch a glimpse of the blood, sweat, and tears that brought them to this particular moment where their hard work is on proud display and ready to share with others.

What is it about the fresh items that make them so much more appealing than what we can get inside a grocery store? I think it’s some of all of what I just said above — the hard work and pride that goes into growing it oneself, and the rest of us being privy to their labors.

If we can enjoy the fresh produce of the field so much more than the canned items on the store shelf, then surely we can get more out of God’s Word by perusing it ourselves. A gardener receives the pride and joy that comes from a bountiful crop and the ability to share that crop. A reader of the Scripture can also benefit from the pride and joy of learning on one’s own, receiving the blessings that can come only because we’ve put the hard work into sharing, spreading, and growing in our own relationship with the Lord.

When it comes to food, the fresher the better. I believe when it comes to reaping the benefits of the harvest, we can and will enjoy it so much more if we just put in the effort to make it personal. Share your own home-grown witness — your own story, your testimony — with those who pass by. Let them benefit from the personal side of God’s love upon your life.

The wet earth, mosquito bites, and sun-burnt neck will all be worth it when someone latches on to what you have to share! Press on. Plant the seeds. Work the soil. Share the bounty. What a glorious experience you can share with others along the way.

Just a thought. ’Til later.

Brad Campbell can be reached at mastah.pastah@yahoo.com.