July 2025 – Discussion on Pollinators, Janice Jackson

Moment of Inspiration was given by Sara Brown before the program.
Devotions From My Garden: Whatever It Takes by Heather C. King
“He’s solid rock under my feet, breathing room for my soul “Psalm 62:1-2 (MSG).
A few summers ago, I tried my gardening hand at tomatoes for the very first time. I was pushed into it by my tomato-loving daughters who wanted to grow their own food. Loving mom that I am, I trekked to the store and returned home with soil, two tiny plantings, and some plant food.
Through the summer months, my tomato plants grew full with abundant leaves. You couldn’t see any space between the branches, just all green and all beautiful. I was pretty proud of my gardening prowess.
But my mother-in-law showed me that some leaves weren’t producing any fruit. They just looked beautiful and diverted nutrients from the shoots that actually had baby tomatoes on them. So, she encouraged me to trim the plant.
This was hard. And sad. I sucked in my breath one day and finally started snipping away with my scissors. The leaves fell to the ground. My tomato plant that was once so full and beautiful now looked spindly and bare.
Yet, just as promised, within a week or two it grew bigger and more green. More flowers appeared to produce fruit.
Drastic measures that seemed so harmful at the time produced a greater harvest.
When I read through the Lord’s Prayer, it strikes me that we are petitioning God for some drastic measures at times. Do we really mean it?
When we pray, “Hallowed be Thy name,” are we willing to let God trim away the dead, the diseased, the unfruitful, and the wasteful so that He can really be holy in our lives?
“Thy will be done.” Are we ready for His will to be done–regardless of our desires or expectations?
We can look beautiful and full, untrimmed by God, allowed to grow as we see fit.
Yet, if we let God cut and prune, painful as it is, as harmful as it first appears, the end result is His holiness, His glory, His lordship in our lives.

Program presentation by Janice Jackson, CCMGA Master Gardener, Discussion on Pollinators