Overflowing Hope

Zucchini!  Typically, gardeners who start their gardens in spring have an idea of space, what they want to grow, and an idea of the number of plants they will need.   My father started this annual tradition in winter.  He would go through the seed magazines and determine exactly what he was going to grow and how much of it.  There were pole beans, bush beans, three types of radishes, cherry tomatoes, plum tomatoes, beefsteak tomatoes, pickling cucumbers, salad cucumbers, etc.   The list was endless. 

Of course, Daddy’s Garden would not have been complete without the zucchini.  We would carefully plant each seed in the spring and by the middle of summer, the zucchini would start coming in.  My poor mom would try to find one hundred ways to use it.  Yet, it continued to populate like bunnies!  Inevitably, we would put the zucchini out in our front yard in hopes that our neighbors who did not have gardens would share in our harvest.  Our garden overflowed and others benefited.  It was a wonderful way to share the abundance of zucchini.

When I read this verse, my mind went to the zucchini.  I was amazed at my dad’s thought process.  Although we would have more zucchini than we knew what to do with, he did not ‘pare back’ the following year.  Nope, we continued to plant the same amount.  It was his opportunity to give the overflow.  Some years we would also have cucumbers and tomatoes to give away.  Yet, there was always zucchini. 

Giving others our overflow can be a terrific way to share with others.  Yes, we could ‘store up’ our treasures and save them for a rainy day, but as Jesus said in Matthew 6:19-20, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.  But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven. . ..”  The idea of not ‘hording’ for myself but ‘giving’ to others is a cherished thought. 

I love the idea of overflowing with hope!  I thought about this for some time, asking myself if I overflow with hope.  It is a question I ponder even as I write these words.  Hope, for me, is trusting in God so boldly that I know He will provide the joy, the peace, and the blessings I need to live out his love.  Hope is knowing, unconditionally, that no matter what I may be facing, God has me in the palm of His hands.  I pray that I exude hope and know I will be thinking of this more often in the coming days.  The joy, the peace, the love, the hope that only God can give us needs to be shared!  It needs to pour out of us, not for us to ‘store up,’ but to overflow with those around us.

The hope that we confidently receive from our Lord is one that provides us with life each and every day.  Our simple faith assures us of this hope.  May we take the time to ensure that this hope is shared, abundantly like zucchini, for all to have.  May your hope sit in your front yard for all to benefit from.

Heavenly Father, thank you for providing each of us with an overflow of hope.  Give us the opportunity to share the hope you so richly provide for others that are around us.  In your name we pray.  Amen.