God the Father is a giver of good gifts. Jesus said to ask, and it will be given to you.
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!” Matthew 7:7-11
God’s gifts are all around us. We need the Holy Spirit to give us eyes to see them. When we ask God in prayer to help us to walk in His ways, He opens our eyes. The Holy Spirit can bring motivations from God’s word and the examples of other Christians.
I noticed black walnut trees and abundant ripe nuts on the ground in neighborhood parks in St. Louis, Missouri and Madison, Wisconsin at the end of October.
Many people walk by them and maybe do not even notice them (One did see that I was looking up in the tree – my grandson).
However, I had the example of my Grandfather who harvested Black Walnuts and provided them to Grandma to include in the Thanksgiving meal as a special treat with robust flavor. I do not think I thanked him appropriately for his labor in bringing this ingredient to the feast. However, through the Holy Spirit, his example of gratefulness for the gifts that God provides from the land is a lasting impression. So I picked up some nuts to crack open.
Nuts are a gift from God for those who can enjoy them without an allergic response. They promote healthy aging. Black walnuts are highest in protein among the nuts at 24% of the nut meat (followed by almonds and pistachios at 20%) and contain many other healthful nutrients. People harvest them in the wild where it the tree is a native plant. One company has 235 dehulling and buying stations to make them commercially available. I learned how not to crack the nuts while in Missouri, but had another chance after picking up some more nuts while visiting my parents in Wisconsin. I removed the outer coating with a hammer to avoid getting stains on my hands. Then I placed the remaining portion in a paper towel, placed it in a hole of a brick, smashed it with several blows of a hammer, unwrapped it, and picked out the nut flesh.
I was amazed at the amount of the rich food that I could get from a little effort. Amazement is not uncommon with God’s gifts. Though we have to, pray and take responsibility to work (find a tree) and we wait for uncertain amounts of time for answers to our prayers (e.g., time to prepare the nuts). We have hope because the answers are typically beyond what we imagine (e.g., an example of wonder and gratefulness that is passed to the next generation).
“Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” Ephesians 3:20-21
Wonderful reminder, Neal, of God’s goodness to us even in something as simple as a walnut! It reminds me of the sweet times I had with my Nanna years ago in San Antonio collecting pecans from the tree in her backyard and shelling them as we talked. Although I did not know God then, He still blessed me with a wonderful childhood. I love pecans to this day and have a deeper appreciation for them now that I have a saving relationship with the one who designed and created them!
Love the picture of Dad. JB