Cucumbers and pickles are a favorite in our home. When our grandson was very young, one of the things he liked was to hold a cucumber. At times, holding one became his comfort thing. Just holding it was calming for him, such as when he was tired of riding! Cucumbers have to be one of my husband’s favorite things, too! Years ago, we found a type of cucumber we both decided was the best one! We have ordered those special seeds, we have recommended them, we have saved seeds to be planted the next year, and we make sure that they get a special place in our garden. This reminds me of Jesus! But how, you might wonder? Well, Humanity is said to be God’s masterpiece! In the book of Ephesians, as Christians, we believe we are “God’s workmanship” or “His masterpiece”. Genesis says that humans were created “in his own image,” giving us a unique position—a “very good” creation. God called his other creations “good,” he described humanity as “very good” after creating man and woman. Maybe He saved the best for last. God wants us in His garden of people and has a special place for us! He saves us so that we can be in His Garden for years and years to come—for Eternity. We are hoping to include those special cucumbers in our garden for years and years to come.
Once our cucumbers are planted, Garry anticipates their future! He checks on them frequently! He watches over them, makes sure they have proper water, sometimes despairing of them appearing out of the ground. When they finally start to grow, he makes sure they have a proper home! That is a tall fence for them to climb up on. He sometimes gives them guidance if they stray from climbing the upward path that is provided for them. They sometimes grow in ways that he doesn’t want. They grow along the ground and are in danger of getting walked on, and becoming out of control and in danger of getting smothered by weeds, of being broken and bruised and a forgotten harvest. Once again, there are lessons for me in growing our cucumbers. God has given me a way that is best for me to follow. His way is good and right and what is best for me. Sometimes the vines reach the top edge of the fence and keep trying to grow on up higher towards the heavens. They want to climb higher and higher. In each growing season for me, I want to grow upwards becoming more and more like Jesus! But sometimes I choose to follow my own way and leave the best way that would take me on the path that leads me up and up on the road that will take me towards heaven, to where I can be part of God’s harvest. To a place of safety, away from being hidden away, lost in the weeds of life—sins! Moving upward keeps the cucumbers away from prowling, destructive bugs, mice, and chickens. Upward keeps me from rotting in the mud and muck. God wants me lifted above the mucky mire of the earth. He waits, hoping that I will be ready for harvest in the near future. Those cucumbers that choose to grow and stray away from the upward way, can be forgotten about, they miss the harvest and grow to a bloated size, become bitter, and turn an ugly shade of greenish yellow and orangish color that shows them as very unwanted, good only for chicken food and the compost heap. I do not want to be discarded on God’s rubbish heap.
The day comes when Garry spies the first cucumber that he can pick. He picks—anticipating his delight that he can have it to eat! It doesn’t matter to him how it gets prepared for eating. The only thing he requires is some salt to go with his delicacy! Then, I peel it and slice it. Sometimes that is all I do! He salts and enjoys! Other times I slice the cucumbers thin and add some onions and dill and mayonnaise and of course salt. Yum! Sometimes the cucumbers get all chopped up and added to a salad! And, then others get pickled! That way of preserving them makes them “last forever!” Sadly, if the cucumbers are not eaten fresh or preserved as pickles, then they become very undesirable and headed for the compost rubbish heap. I run the risk of becoming undesirable for harvest if I grow and go my own way. I will get out of control, and avoid the care of the Master Gardener. I will get fat and bloated with my sins of neglect.
When the harvest of cucumbers gets to be rather abundant, that is the signal that it’s time to make pickles! “Making pickles” is the process of transforming a plain cucumber into a sour or sweet, flavorful pickle. And pickles for most in our family are a necessity! They are good anytime, anywhere! Some like them sweet, most like them sour and with lots of flavor. Our grandson likes great big fat ones. His great grandpa loved pickles too, especially the tiny ones he called gherkins. He especially liked them for snacking on when he was traveling! There are so many kinds of pickles that there must be something for everyone. There are polish dills, kosher dills with garlic, fresh crisp dills, half sour and full sour dills, sweet pickles, gherkins or cornichons, sweet and tangy bread and butter pickles, refrigerator pickles, and pickled other things: Indian pickles like mango pickle, eggs, beets, green beans, okra, asparagus, peppers, onions, and Greek pickled vegetables. And one of my mother’s favorites—pickled watermelon rind. Jalapenos pickles would never be my choice of pickles! When I Googled popular pickle flavors, I found some very unusual flavors that top people’s favorites. Ice cream and pizza come in dill pickle flavor! And I admit to liking dilly potato chips. Some add hot sauce or horseradish to their pickles. So many ways to pickle or enjoy a pickle! I am so glad that God has people that are of every nationality, tall or short, curly hair or straight, blue eyes or brown,……no one has to be left out unless you choose to be left out of His family of many different “pickles.”
Several years ago, I tasted pickles that were provided for a Sabbath fellowship lunch! They quickly became my favorite pickle, and the maker was kind and shared her recipe with me. And ever since I make several gallons of Mickey’s pickles, sweet mixed with a little bit of sour, that live in my refrigerator until they have all been eaten up! They are just the right amount of sweet and sour mixed together! Those refrigerator pickles can’t be enjoyed immediately! You have to wait patiently for them to “pickle”. I am so glad that God has patience with me—I transform into one of His “Pickles” over time. I have many changes to make so I can turn out to be one of His special “pickles.” One of my aunts always made and canned pickles and I remember how good she could make them. I have tried to follow her recipe—I can’t do it as good as she could! I have learned to preserve some by canning but I found out a secret method and that is what I do now! Never as good as hers or ones from the store but they will do! I am so glad that God has a recipe for turning me into a sweet pickle with only a little sour in me.
Making pickles transforms a cucumber into a pickle! Thinking about that makes me think about the transformation and the importance of time and environment for each of us, where it can symbolize absorbing God’s word for spiritual change in our life. The lesson for us is comparing a plain cucumber to a fully pickled cucumber, how prolonged immersion in the salty, vinegary brine with spices changes the cucumber’s taste and texture from kinda blah into spicy sweet or sour tasty slices. Just as the cucumber needs to sit in the pickle juice for a long time to become a pickle, we need to spend time in God’s word to allow it to transform our lives. The longer we sit in the Juice of God’s Word, the more we absorb and the better we become, the more savory we are to Him. The longer the cucumber soaks, the more flavorful and transformed it becomes. Similarly, the more time Christians spend in God’s word, the more they will absorb His teachings and be transformed. There is the before and after for cucumbers! The concept of transformation from cucumber to pickle is central, so the focus on the contrast between the “before” and “after” of me is important. God said when we give our heart to Him, we become a new creature, person, just as a pickle is way different from a cucumber.
We have played a game called “In a Pickle”. This was a new game when it was introduced to us. In “In a Pickle,” players try to win sets of cards by creatively placing noun cards on a table. The goal is to arrange cards so that the object on one card either fits inside or is larger than the object on another card, depending on whether the new card is placed beneath or on top of the existing pile. When four cards are placed in a row, a “pickle round” begins, where players compete to play the largest card to win the row. The first player to win a set number of rows (usually 4 or 5) wins the game and is in a pickle! On your turn you must play a card from your hand onto or under one of the four piles in the center. If placing a card on top of a pile, the object on the new card must be larger than the object on the card it’s placed on. If placing a card beneath a pile, the object on the new card must fit inside the object on the card it’s placed on. You can debate with other players if there is a disagreement with your interpretation of the card and its place in the sequence. The others come to a consensus on whether you lose or win your card. God and Satan can debate whether your sin will keep you out of heaven. God can override Satan’s claim to you. We can be in a pickle between God and Satan’s debate! Sometimes the pickle is sour or maybe sweet! In sin is a sour pickle. Without sin is the sweet pickle. Whether you like real life sweet or sour pickles, we need to be sure that we end up being sweet pickles for God!
When Cucumbers are fresh, they get peeled before we eat. When they become pickles, the peeling is left on. The difference is that our skin, “our attitudes” toward other people, is softened by the vinegar that cures us of our attitudes. The trials we go through, God’s Vinegar, is what softens us!
I want to be a pickle—A Sweet Pickle!