INEDIBLE!

Lots of tree shade and a soil acidity change combined as a “welcome mat” for some unwanted visitors late this fall. I woke up, looked outside, and behold—lots of little white “umbrellas” under the backyard fir trees, which have a thick rug of moist needle “mulch” underneath them.

Forget the cutesy drawings of little fairies or gnomes pulling a mushroom out of the ground for a quickie umbrella. Some mushrooms are edible, but many are not. In fact, they can make you very sick or even kill. They have lovely names like “Death Cap” and “Destroying Angel.” Not savvy enough to know what these were, I went the safe route. Donning my garden gloves, I pulled up each mushroom, dumped it in a bag, and then dropped the bag in the trash.  Not one to take chances, I'll reserve my “mushroom hunting” to the little cans at the grocery store!

If you research “mushrooms” on the internet, your blood may run cold from the warnings of toxicity of many varieties. But the edible ones are there, too. One ad promoted a pound of dried morel mushrooms for $222. Re-read the amount: a pound! I understand why: hard to find. But they're free to foraging animals—bears to boars—who find them in the wild and go yum yum.

It's okay if, after reading a bit about mushroom hunters, you read Jeremiah 15:16 (KJV) with a different perspective:

Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts.

And maybe a chorus from the 1970s-or-so will come to mind with its music to these verses in Psalm 19:9-10 (KJV):

 The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.

I'm not implying any connection with the Bible and mushrooms, other than that the Bible often uses very ordinary comparisons to help us understand heavenly truths. Yes, finding honey was a big deal in Bible times. As for me, I don't think I've ever eaten a morel mushroom. The cheap canned stems and pieces on the grocery shelf, yes. The common fresh ones in the produce section (great for stir-fry), yes.

And maybe here's another lesson. God sometimes uses earthly analogies to help us understand heavenly realities. Even as we eat food (including “safe” mushrooms) to sustain our earthly bodies, our “spiritual nutrition” needs to include scripture. What's written there didn't suddenly pop up overnight. But it's pure enough and “nutritious enough” to keep us growing closer to God.

SAVORING IT

Our backyard fence is a squirrel highway between a walnut tree five houses away and a critter hideout just across the street from us. That means they have to briefly brave street traffic, but they’re quick, and there’s not much come-and-go on our one-block neighborhood. Often from a window facing our back yard, I’ll spot a squirrel pausing on a fence post, its tail flicking in anticipation as it nibbles its latest nutty find. I know it’s a long shot to relate this to a Bible verse, but this sight brings to mind Jeremiah 15:16 (KJV):

Thy words were found and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of my heart; for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts.

This verse connects with the first chapter of Jeremiah and the prophet’s God-ordained commission to prophesy a not-too-popular message. Even though the prophet objected that he was too young for such a great task, God gave him this assurance: “You must go to everyone I send you and say whatever I command you” (1:7).

Jeremiah didn’t win any popularity contests with his “shape up” warnings to his nation. Yet his relationship with God, and his commitment to the truth of God’s Word, kept him going despite the hardships that came his way with an unpopular message.

So, back to squirrels. Sometimes the pace of life makes me feel like a critter racing along a narrow fence board. The spiritual nutrition that keeps me going is there, but needs to be dug out, like a squirrel’s sharp front teeth prying out nutty nutrition. I’m grateful for the pastors and Bible teachers who patiently taught me out to “pry out” scripture’s nutrition through various Bible study methods. They’ve helped me to get to the spiritual “meat” of scripture. 

Did I say “meat”? Isn’t “nut meat” another word for the nutritious stuff inside the hard shell of the walnut? And was my squirrel-and-walnut analogy somewhat accurate (though a bit nutty?).

Maybe, but I savor the times I’m reading a scripture and something makes me pause and think, to digest, and then to thank the Lord for using the written Word to teach and encourage me. No fence-post-balancing act required!