I got out the turnip greens and she volunteered to help me. We washed them and each took a pile so that we could pull off the good edible leafy part and toss out the bitter middle stem that runs through the middle of each stalk.
She began to reminisce about sitting on her porch and cleaning the greens and the times that she shelled peas until her fingers were raw. She spoke of the good times of fresh vegetable from the garden and eating homemade biscuits with a slice of raw onion in it.
Having grown up out in the country as well, I too shared some stories. Unlike hers, mine were mostly funny in nature as this was my grandparent's house where we did those things. We would get distracted and my brother and cousins and I would have contest on who could stick a black-eyed pea up their nose and blow it out the farthest away.
This was fun until my brother got one stuck up his nose and we had to go to our family doctor and they had to get it out with a tool that looked like something out of a medieval torture dungeon. He was about 5 or 6 and it took 3 grownups to hold that little guy down to get that black-eyed pea out.
Of course, I got in trouble because I was older and knew better as well I should have. This led to her telling the story about the spanking that her and her sisters got for going and getting a drink of water from the common dipper while the preacher was preaching. (Can you imagine us drinking from a common dipper anymore?)
What seemed like a cumbersome, lengthy task turned into a joy-filled , laughter-sprinkled, good time. Her hands were not as fast as mine in what we were doing and often she would stop as the conversation at times needed hand gestures to best describe the story.
There is so much we can learn in taking the time to spend time with the elders in our family who we are blessed enough to still have with us. For when they are gone, so are their memories and their stories.
As we were tearing off the tasty leaves from the bitter stem, I thought life is a lot like these turnip greens. Parts of it are good and tender and make life flavorful and part of life is bitter and doesn't taste good and we just want to spit it out.
These biennial plants take two years to grow and reproduce, and when they do, they pack a nutritional punch. All the nutrients flow into the leaves from that bitter stem. Turnip greens are filled with vitamins and minerals that seriously help with cognition and eyesight to name a few.
Life is much like this too. We like to just "eat" the good part but it's the bitter and the hard that often increases our vision and gives us the mind of Christ. Easy is necessary sometimes for our bodies and minds to rest but difficult is where we build strength and stamina.
Embrace the place where God has you planted at the moment and help nourish the world around you. Share yourself with others, take the time to "sort through the turnip greens" with a friend who is going through a tough time and laugh with the ones who are laughing.
Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God's varied grace:"
1 Peter 4:8-10
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