GOT GUTTATION?

Unless you're a biology whiz, I'll bet you've never heard the term “guttation.” It has nothing to do with cleaning the innards (“gutting”) of a freshly-caught fish, in preparation for cooking it for dinner. Instead, “guttation” is the releasing (the scientific word is “exudation”) of drops of fluid from the tips or edges of leaves of some “vascular plants” and fungi. The “vascular plants” are so called because they have tissues that help a plant transport water, minerals and nutrients—something like the human body. These include species like club-mosses, horsetails, ferns, and some seed plants. If this subject gets you excited, you can learn the basics at this web site: typical vascular plants - Search

This photo doesn't nail it for illustrating “guttation,” as the plant shown didn't necessarily have the “veins” to release all this hydration—just a waxy surface to hold rainwater droplets for a while. But “guttation” is a real thing in the plant world. It's also somewhat of an analogy of a Biblical principle, that giving from overflow reflects God's abundant blessings and generosity.

Probably the best-known Bible verse of abundant giving is this:

“Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.” (Malachi 3:10)

Others:

“Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” (Luke 6:38)

“God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.” (2 Corinthians 9:8)

“Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us.” (Ephesians 3:20)

My head spun a bit to learn about circulation systems in growing green things. I took biology in high school and college, but the facts I absorbed didn't apply to my vocation. They got buried (like dead plants!) Still, there's a whole world of discovery out there regarding God's immeasurably complex and delightful creation. Like plants that have “transport systems,” akin to the veins and arteries threading through our own bodies.

To bring this to a spiritual close--”Got godly guttation?” Am I responding to God's overflow of blessing, hope, and ability by reaching out to my parched world?

SPENT

Fall’s first frost came early this year, leaving us with way too many green tomatoes. I felt like some sort of grim reaper when I tore into our wilted line of tomatoes and removed the whole shebang. Some years I rinse the green tomatoes that show more “potential” in a weak bleach solution to ward off mold. Those with a hint of yellow go in a sunny windowsill to ripen nature’s way. The others I layer in a box between newspapers to awaken slowly. Of both methods, eventually some ripen, but some developed mold and had to be tossed. 
We’re “city-slicker” gardeners who buy fledgling tomato plants every spring from the hardware store. Bravo to the more farm-hearted souls who harvest tomato seeds and know how to bring the pinhead-size seeds to new life as “starter” plants. Think: seed pods made out of empty toilet paper rolls, stuffed with nutritious/sterilized potting soil, and nurtured with lots of green-thumb know-how. I watched the You-Tube! I could do it—if I wanted!

GIVING BACK

Imagine: claiming the abundance for more abundance!  That spiritual principle was Paul’s focus in nurturing the church in Corinth. Known as a worldly and perhaps selfish city, it was a good incubator for the concept of giving generously. As Paul emphasized the practical and spiritual rewards of giving, he urged them to give generously and graciously. The end result (for impoverished recipients in Jerusalem) would be the “overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God” (2 Cor. 9:14).

That passage came to mind a few weeks ago during the annual all-city "Make a Difference" volunteer day. Our newspaper ran a full page of project descriptions to help people figure out how they could spend a few hours improving our community. It poured rain that day, so some of the outdoor projects probably had to reschedule. But many folks got free haircuts, dental care, food, diapers, repaired bikes, property repair and other “helps.” And...the do-gooders undoubtedly got “feel-good” endorphins for giving of themselves.

The dynamics weren’t any different in the First Century. Those who give in the name of Christ, Paul said, receive back what can’t be weighed or measured: the surpassing grace of God (9:14). That concept should blow your mind. It did Paul’s, as he followed up with this exclamation: “Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!” (v. 15).

The Gift beyond all gifts, of course, is Jesus. With the annual celebration of His birth coming at us (with all its materialism and greed), we need the reminder that the seeds of Christ-motivated giving are within us. Even if tinier than a tomato seed, they have potential for harvest.

Hidden values

“You never know until you go.”  That’s the slogan my husband uses a lot in his hobby of going to yard sales.  He typically finds bikes and mowers to clean up, fix and re-sell.  But I doubt if he will ever match the surprises reported in one internet article.
*A decorative egg found in a flea market was made of gold so a bit pricey at $14,000. But it proved to be a Faberge Egg, an Easter gift from a Russian czar to his wife in 1887, thought lost. The winning auction bid: $33 million.
*An old Flemish painting in an old frame, $3 at a thrift store in South Carolina. Proven to have been produced around 1650, it was auctioned at $190,000.
*Two of the 24 original copies of the Declaration of Independence surfaced.  One, found in pristine condition hidden behind a painting bought for $4 at a Pennsylvania  thrift shop, fetched $2.4 million. Another came off somebody’s garage wall during a “clutter” purge, was bought for $2.48 at a Tennessee thrift store, and fetched $477,650 at an auction.
*A sweater bought for a dollar at a Tennessee thrift store had a clue inside: a nametag that said “Vince Lombardi,” the legendary football coach. It auctioned for $43,020.
*A piece of jewelry purchased at a Philadelphia flea market brought its owner lots of compliments. Then she learned it had been made by famed American sculptor Alexander Calder, and was once displayed at the New York Museum of Modern Art.  It sold to Christie’s for $267,750.
*An abstract painting donated to a church yard sale in North Carolina got no takers, so ended up at a local Goodwill. A local artist stopped in the store for a blanket and noticed it, thinking she could repurpose the canvas for her own zany-cat paintings. A friend suggested she research the artist’s name, “Illya Bolowsky,” found to be a giant of abstract art.  Titled “Vertical Diamond,” it brought $34,375 at auction.

THE NEED IS THERE

When I go along to yard sales, I’m not out for auction-worthy items. I look for simple things: fabric scraps, batting, yarn.  These I transform into baby blankets that I give hospital obstetrics departments to distribute to the “very needy,” as they see fit. I started this project some six years ago after learning how many “very poor” show up to give birth.  One nurse remarked recently as I left several blankets, “We’re having more and more homeless come in.”  At another hospital, a nurse pulled a blue blanket from the middle of the stack I’d just brought in and said, “This will go home with a baby boy tomorrow.”  Well, not home, she added.  Foster care.  Another nurse told of giving a blanket to a woman who came in alone to deliver her fifth baby, crying through the whole process.  There was a language barrier, too. The nurse just gave her one of my blankets as encouragement in this unexplained but traumatic situation.

Though I’ve found “blanket makings” at yard sales and thrift stores, I’ve also been blessed by people who just gave me fabric and batting. One woman and her mother brought me a huge box of serger cone thread in various colors. Some have just given me gift cards to a fabric store. One gift card (from two people) was for $100.  It took my breath away. Every time I swiped that card to buy remnants or on-sale items, I silently said, “Thank you, Lord.  Bless them.”

About a month ago I posed my two older grandsons with the latest “stash” of just-sewn blankets. As infants they got their own specially Nana-sewn blankets. But these will go to a local hospital to bless babies I will never meet. But God knows them.  So far, the blanket project stands at 838. I never know who eventually gets them. But the babies they will warm: priceless.My role model for doing this, a lady in Proverbs 31:She selects wool and flax [or juvenile print flannels!] and works with eager hands...She opens her arms to the poor and extends her hands to the needy. (vv. 13, 20)

Hard/Not-hard to shop for

It’s that time of year when this phrase gets slipped into conversations: “What would you like for Christmas?”  Here’s the reply they don’t want: “Nothing. Give to something worthy.”   Amidst all the hoopla of “Black Friday” and super-sales, maybe we need to actually listen to those requests.

I found a kindred spirit recently when re-reading one of my “keeper” books, Calm My Anxious Heart by Linda Dillow (NavPress, 1998). In one chapter she deals with financial anxiety and the tendency to want more and more, like the greedy leech of Proverbs 30:15, who never has “enough.” In applying this to the pressures of holiday giving, Dillow described two friends who decided to proactively emphasize the “giving” that was important to them. Two months before Christmas, they wrote their adult children a letter, asking that their Christmas present to parents be a gift for someone less fortunate than they are. Period. They asked that the “gift” also appear as a little note on the Christmas tree, telling what the giver had done, in Jesus’ name.

The couple described their joy over opening the notes at Christmas.  A son began sponsoring an overseas orphan. Another washed floors and cleaned a rescue mission. Still another helped homeless people.

Of course, giving to the needy or worthy causes is no new idea.  Our mailboxes are full of appeals at Christmastime, often from groups we know little of. But there are others with a visible and respected presence that reach out to prisoners’ children, the known needy of the community, and other established overseas outreaches.  When our children were young, we filled those well-publicized shoeboxes with kid hygiene items and toys, wondering who would get them.  I hoped it balanced out that “it’s all about me” mentality that slips into the holidays.

Dillow’s concluding remark adds a punch to these suggestions: “Brainstorm with friends about how you can say ’Enough!’ to overspending for gifts.  Everyone’s home needs a house cleaning to keep the greedy leech away” (p. 93). It’s not about “Presents!” with a capital P and exclamation mark.  It’s about the presence of the holy God among us.

Getting off the Xmas Xpress

The hobby building of our local county fair featured this huge set-up belonging to a miniature railroad enthusiast.  As I listened to him tell visitors how his train-land grew, I recalled the simple set my son set up in his bedroom for several years at Christmas. He had a tiny room, ten feet square, and hauled half of a Ping Pong table in there to hold the train. He had to crawl under it to get to bed!

Lately, I’ve been thinking how the Christmas season is a lot like that miniature train. Once a train is set in place, and the tracks are perfectly aligned, it will go round and round until someone hits the “off” button. So it is with “traditions.”  Yes, we had some “traditions” when our children were young.  On Christmas eve they opened the package that contained their new home-sewn pajamas. On Christmas morning, their first package was a box of usually-forbidden sugary breakfast cereal. (Yes, I tried to be their health-conscious mom.)

But as I consider what has become “Christmas tradition,” I wonder if we have courage to call it the “Xmas Xpress”: the intensive retail and party season that propels us into winter with barely a nod to the huge spiritual significance of God coming to earth as a baby.  Have we made too much of gifting each other, and not gifting back in gratitude to God? I can think of several “gifts” that honor the Lord’s birth lots better than the way many are doing it now:

*The gift of kindness and service.  I hope we’ll never forget the simple gifts of showing the Lord’s love.  Like visiting a shut-in. Taking a meal to someone who’s lonely, ill or bereaved. Offering to clean, repair or do yard work for someone who can’t.  One young couple we know, living on a tight college-student budget, decided to do “Twelve Days of Giving” for their Christmas family gift.  They decided on twelve number-related “giving tasks,” and took photos of each for a small album they gave parents.  For example, for Day 10, the wife had ten inches of hair cut off for a non-profit that makes wigs for medically-bald children.  For Day 4, they offered “four hands” of serving in a local food bank.  Day 8 was picking up litter on eight blocks near their home.

*The gift of appreciation.  Has someone’s kindness made your life easier?  Tell them in a heart-felt note. Has someone’s close walk with Christ inspired you or helped you?  Tell them. This year, while adding notes to Christmas letters (yes, I still do that, but to a limited number), I took extra time to write some former, aging pastors and their spouses.

 

*The gifts of alms. It’s not just the red kettle bell-ringers. Our mailboxes are flooded with solicitations at Christmas because it is, after all, a time when we acknowledge God’s amazing way of intercepting history with the birth of His Son. He was born into poverty—not the way we might have chosen things for history. He ministered to the poor. In our family, we decide on at least one “Jesus gift” to support a ministry that has burdened our hearts.   We’ve encouraged family members to do the same in lieu of “gifting” us. It brings me joy to know that instead of more “stuff” for me, that money is instead  buying food for a child in Africa, chickens for a family in Central America, or electricity for a ministry to the homeless.

*The gift of deference. Not everyone in my circle of influence agrees with cutting back so drastically. To them, Christmas isn’t Christmas without gifts. They’d be disappointed without several packages to open.  I accept where they are, and try to gift wisely.

*The gifts of reconciliation.  My heart aches for families where there is enmity.  Often it’s because of a divorce or separation or some other family difficulty.  I pray for two families divided after a stepparent's death. I imagine Jesus weeping over this, even more than I do. What a gift it would be for either family unit to write or phone and say, “Let’s turn away from the past.  Please forgive me for my part in our conflict. Let’s make a fresh start before the Lord.” Such bold, humble steps are like the image of reconciliation in Psalm 133--of family harmony like precious anointing oil spilling over a priest’s head.  Surely, this is what pleases God.

The scriptures say of Jesus’ coming, “Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift” (2 Cor. 9:15). As Christians, we know the secular celebration has gotten out of hand. But in simple ways like this, maybe we can show the world that it’s still about how very, very much God loves us—so much that He sent a Savior.

The other Black Friday

Last week saw “Black Friday,” a day that news sources say 47 million shoppers spent an estimated $40,000,000,000. As I considered this annual $pending $pree,  I couldn’t help but think of another “Black Friday.”  We remember it every year, and this year it will return just 19 weeks from today. Last week’s frenzy got its name because a retailer’s “red ink” balance will supposedly turn “black” with pre-Christmas sales.  But the original “Black Friday” came on a desperate, ugly day of execution for two criminals and One without sin:

“From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land.”—Matthew 27:45

“At the sixth hour darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour.” –Mark 15:33
Shortly after those three black mid-day hours, Jesus died.

Some try to minimize the importance of the mid-day darkness.  They claim it must have been an eclipse. But this was at Passover, which is carefully dated at the time of a full moon, and eclipses cannot occur during a full moon. In addition, eclipses typically last a few minutes, never three hours. There had to be a supernatural intervention, as happened with the ninth plague of darkness in Egypt (Exodus 10:22) before Moses led the Hebrews out of slavery. 

It’s hard to miss the connection between spiritual and physical darkness. In his inimitable 19^th century prose, the great preacher Charles Spurgeon commented: “The sun could no longer look upon his Maker surrounded by those who mock him.  He covered his face, and traveled on in tenfold night, in very shame that the great Sun of righteousness should himself be in such terrible darkness.”

We’ve come to know that day as “Good Friday,” because the completely good and pure Son of God took on our punishment for sin.  But the day was full of blackness: shameful injustice, parades of misguided mockers, the raw and negative side of humanity.

Hmm...as I read of this era’s disorderly crowds and pandemonium over electronics, big-screen televisions , clothing, and toys, I wonder if we’ve made any progress since the day Christ hung on a cross. The crowds shouting “Crucify Him!” were disappointed that this “Messiah” wasn’t a political figure. They sought a leader to overthrow the Roman rule, which had kept them from enjoying life’s nicer things. They wanted comfort and toys, not a Savior from sin.

Perhaps the psalmist can lead us to an answer:  “How can I repay the Lord for all his goodness to me?  I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord.” (Psalm 116:15-16).  There’s no “gift” in all the Black Friday sales that can ever match the gift we have of salvation in Jesus Christ. We should respond by giving, not to those who already have so much, but as the hands of Jesus to those who have so little—in our land and abroad.