GINGER

GINGER

PRACTICE: What do you want to grow in your life?

Not one of the main characters on the old TV show, Gilligan’s Island or the famous movie star, Ginger Rodgers, but ginger, the plant whose root is used as a fragrant spice, tea or for medicinal purposes. The discovery of ginger and subsequently giving it a place in my kitchen is a recent development. Of course, I have consumed ginger ale as a refreshing carbonated beverage or to add sparkle to punch for most of my life. I never once stopped to think of where ginger came from and certainly not as a spice, until I had an expensive cup of tea at a natural food restaurant. It was delicious. I read the ingredients and decided that I wanted to make the tea at home.

I purchased ginger root for the first time about 5 years ago. I began to brew batches of ginger tea for personal consumption. I accidently left roots in the garage and noticed that they sprouted. I researched propagation of the plant and how to grow and harvested my first crop last year.

Ginger is easy to grow under the right conditions – shallow planted roots in slightly dense soil with bud pointing upward – the root grows horizontally. Ginger is a tropical plant, so heat and moisture are necessary. It is a long growing process – planted late spring and harvested just before the first frost. Ginger can be dried, pickled, candied. Many of us love gingerbread and ginger snap cookies.

The harvest this year was bountiful. As I looked at the many roots of ginger, I could not help but recall the small pieces that I planted in several pots alone and with other flowers. As it began to grow, I watered and fed it regularly. The great outdoors supplied the heat. It was nurtured consistently but not excessively. The picture taken to prove to others I grew ginger, bought to mind two friends that are struggling to redefine themselves. I shared the picture with them along with these words:

“This is a picture of the harvest of ginger I grew this season. This started with a small piece of ginger placed in a pot, watered and fed. I had no control over the climate. Just before the first frost, this bounty was harvested. You are planted in your pot. Water and feed what you want to grow. You may or may not be able to control your environment. But in due season you will reap the benefits of consistent work.”

Can you grasp how the story of growing ginger might take on a personal meaning in your life?

Jeremiah 17: 7-8

PONDER THIS THOUGHT – Plant, water, nurture, harvest. Repeat.