Monday Morning Memo: Feeling of Accomplishment

We have been blessed with a bountiful garden this year.  We have enjoyed asparagus, corn, tomatoes, zucchini, yellow squash, peppers and my favorite…green beans.  There aren’t too many things better than fresh green beans for dinner.

My favorite garden item to put up to use throughout the year is green beans and this summer we were able to can 87 quarts.  I think I like doing them the best because of the feeling of accomplishment I get as I look at the day’s cans lined up on the counter.  Oh, and the smell of green beans canning is amazing…well at least I think so!

If you aren’t familiar with canning, I’ll give you a quick 101 course.  First of all, of course, the green beans have to be picked.  That job was done this year by Dan and our daughter Megan.  The beans are then snapped into smaller pieces, washed and then put into quart size jars.  At that point, I put one teaspoon of salt on top of the beans and then boiling water is poured into each can to cover the beans.  Once each jar is filled to capacity, I put a canning lid on top and then screw a band on to keep the lid in place. 

While this is taking place, I start water boiling in my canner.  Seven quarts will fit in my canner, so once I get seven filled and capped I put them in the canner to start the pressure canning process.  Once adequate pressure has built up, weights are put on top of the canner and it processes for 15 minutes, softening the beans.  At the end of that time, the burner is turned off and we wait for the pressure to go down on its own.  Once that is done, the jars can be taken out and put on the counter.  That is when we then hope that while they cool, we will hear a “pop” sound from each can to let us know that it sealed.

An exhilarating process, isn’t it?  I’m sure some of you, if you are even still reading this devotional, are having trouble staying awake after this riveting account of canning.  I admit that, while it may not be really exciting, it is important that each step is done to ensure that the final product will last on the shelf for months to come.  If I become lazy and try to cut corners to save time, it won’t take long to realize that the jar on my shelf isn’t very appealing to my taste buds.

Sometimes life feels like we’ve been put in a canner, so to speak, doesn’t it?  It feels like we are one of those jars that has been plunged down into boiling water and then life’s happenings cause pressure to build and build around us.  It isn’t too bad if it only lasts for a short time, but oftentimes, it feels like weights have been put on top of us and the pressure seems to go on day after day.  It’s easy then to want to pull the covers up over our head and give up when this happens.

The problem is that we can’t see into the future and as a result, we don’t know when the pressure will begin to diminish.  It then becomes our choice as to what we will do.  As I said, we can hunker down under our covers, or we can let the pressure around us soften us so that we can be more easily molded to look like our Jesus.  He had all kinds of turmoil going on around him during His 33 years on this earth.  He felt every emotion that we have felt and in those times that seemed overwhelming, He showed us by His example, what we should do.  He turned to His Father.  He knew that His strength came from God and that spending time communing with Him, drawing from His power, would give Him the strength that was needed for the coming days.  

If you are in the “canner” of life right now, I want to urge you to not give up.  Allow this time to soften you and mold you into the person that Jesus wants you to be.  Sure, He could cut corners by just letting you stay the same, never growing, never getting stronger.  But He loves you too much to just want the status quo for you.  He knows your potential and for you to reach it, you will need to go through some times of pressure. 

By the way, just like it smells good while the green beans are in the canner, wouldn’t it be amazing if we would smell good to others while we are under pressure?  I’m not talking about our physical odor, but our spiritual fragrance.  2 Corinthians tells us, “Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God.  But this fragrance is perceived differently by those who are being saved and by those who are perishing.”  Wouldn’t it be awesome if our spiritual fragrance would attract those who need to know our Jesus? They just might want Him as their Lord and Savior if they see us drawing our strength from our Jesus when we are under pressure.  Oh what a feeling of accomplishment that would be to have them in heaven with us for all eternity!