How did the pioneers survive?

When I look at spring in my garden or think about what I can eat from the land, I am in awe of those who came far ahead of diesel powered, refrigerated trucks. I am a good month and a half away from my first garden strawberry but the local grocery store has been selling strawberries from as far away as Mexico since early February. The same is true of asparagus, another seasonal treat. There was a moment in my history when we made a celebration of the very first pea pod, perfect and long anticipated as it fattened up. And once upon a time, we welcomed spring with a rhubarb desert or made it into a sauce for chicken. It didn't matter that most of us did not really like rhubarb, it was spring and fresh from the garden must be celebrated.

It is the middle of May and I have been eating fresh salad once or twice a week from my garden since early April. There are all kinds of greens to flavor the bowl but only radishes to add from the garden. It has been wonderful but I get to wondering if I could make it to summer if all I had to eat fresh was greens and radishes.

I know that the pioneers had stores of flour, beans and bacon or other salt meat their first year. But as I wait for pea blossoms to become pods and then for the pods to fatten up, I have the luxury of running to Trader Joe's to pick up something to go with the salad. There were probable trout, bunnies, clams from clean water, mushrooms, fiddle-heads and cat-tail roots to eat in spring. Maybe there were a few spring eggs if the hen did not go into the stew pot or a hungry raccoon didn't eat her. Still doesn't seem like much.

Because I am a believer in the God of Abraham, the Father of Y'shua I know that Elohim cares for his righteous ones. Their children do not go begging for bread. I have only fasted a few times in my life, yet still I know the value of eating spiritual food and how it sustains a girl for a span of time. When I have fasted it has always been my choice. What if it was because the pantry was empty?

My pantry is not empty. Elohim is still good though my only claim to righteousness is wholly and only because of the sacrifice of the Son of Elohim, Y'shua ha Mashiyach (Jesus who is the Christ). He sustains me in all of this abundance as surely as he sustained the early PNW's in need. I know that it seems silly, but Y'shua is the reason I sill celebrate that first fat pea pod, or the first radish to come from its hiding place in the soil. He is the reason I still look for my grandmothers Yellow Transparent apples for Fourth of July pie, as an offering of abundance to Him as I celebrate the country and the family he has gifted me with. Elohim is the reason I still look for that first ear of corn and make it a celebration in all of its simplistic perfection. He has given me so much yet I find it so easy to forget to practice the power of giving thanks if not for the power of garden firsts. Elohim is how the pioneers survived, he is the reason I thrive. My garden is a prop to remember to celebrate the everyday gifts with a thankful heart.