Gardening is my passion and joy. Yes, I know I’ve spent my adult life practicing medicine. But I love digging in soil cultivating beauty in my own little plot of earth. When we sold our home, I gave up my flower beds and my vegetable garden in mid season. My gardener’s heart is still in a state of withdrawal.
So, when my friends, John and Brenda said they had an abundance of corn in their garden, I jumped at the chance to harvest some. With a 5 gallon bucket in hand, I trudged through the rows gathering the precious treasure-about eight dozen ears in all. The rest of the afternoon, I put away half in the freezer to enjoy this winter and gave the remainder away to family.
There’s nothing like eating an ear of Indiana corn, fresh and sweet just out of the field. Acre after acre of the tall stalks cover our rural landscape. It’s a Hoosier staple.
As a teen, one of my first jobs was detasseling corn (a part of the process of producing seed for the next year). This is one of the hottest, itchiest tasks only surpassed by baling hay. I remember the hard work but also the camaraderie out in the fields with other teens earning extra money over the summer. These were good times indeed.
My gardener’s heart was born in the summers of my youth. Every available hand from adults to children was recruited during the harvest. I spent many hours on my grandparent’s dairy farm snapping beans and putting away corn. Afterward they sent one of the kids to throw the husks and cobs over the fence to the hogs. Nothing was ever wasted on the farm.
When I pass from this world, I hope to ask God for a new job. There won’t be a need for doctors to heal our infirmities in the celestial realm. The Lord promises an end to illness. No more tears and no more pain. Surely, God sees my gardener’s heart and will answer my prayer. Oh, what joy to trade in the old stethoscope for a trowel and a hoe in heaven someday.
