Investing in the future…

Last night I pulled a bag of corn out of the freezer to heat and add to our dinner plates. It was delicious. It wasn’t your generic grocery store corn. Oh, no. This was the fruit of the combined effort of a local farmer and my own labor. 

My friend Lisa and I have shared a Market Box from one of the area farms for several years. It is a subscription that you pay for in the spring and then have to pick up every Wednesday afternoon. We split the pickup based on our schedule that week and the produce based on our personal tastes. 

Some items are liked by neither of us, or we don’t have the time that week to consume and so we bless someone else with the overflow. There are other things that are a matter of personal preference and so we work through the box and take what is about half and will fit into what our family likes and needs. 

And then there is the corn. 

The farm we purchase the box from is primarily a corn farm so we get that in abundance. It is the best sweet corn. Russ and I enjoy to complete satisfaction a LOT of ears of corn throughout the summer. 

But at some point, even we tire of it. 

So Lisa texted me her frozen corn recipe and last summer I spent a lot of time slicing off corn, blanching and adding the prescribed ingredients. I ladled batches into plastic bags, flattened them and stacked them in the freezer. 

At the time, looking back, it was often an unwanted task. It is a messy process and there were times I wondered if it was worth it. 

It was. Indeed, it was. 

As I scooped spoonfuls into my mouth at dinner, I savored the flavor of really good corn. I was thankful. Thankful for the weekly trips, figuring out how to divide the box, the starchy mess on the cutting board and the time it took to follow the steps to prepare everything for the freezer. 

Every fall, as we divide the last box of corn, onions, tomatoes and whatever else they threw in for us to try; Lisa and I kind of wonder if we want to invest in this next year. But the bounty of delicious product lasts far beyond the hot late August chores. 

That’s life isn’t it? 

Our labors can be tedious, but the fruit…so worth it. 

Carry on, friends. You are doing good works for the Kingdom. 

Don’t grow weary. 

There will be a harvest if you don’t give up. 

Blessings <3