Three Stakes and a Tomato Plant

The Bolstered Tomato Plant

                This summer was the third year of planting tomatoes in the once ornamental flower beds on each side of the cellar door. In my maternal grandmother’s time, the beds bloomed profusely with pinkish hues of petunias and a border of resurrection lilies. Day lilies and tall phlox stood stately in the back of the carefully designed beds. I love beauty, but my leaning toward functionality and efficiency demanded tomato plants be planted there since I have been responsible for the gardening for the past three years. The large garden traditional to our farm hasn't been planted since the spring my sister and brother-in-law engineered “putting in the garden” as Dad supervised, less than a year before his stroke.

                2018 did see an additional area added. I planted three of the twelve Celebrity tomato plants I purchased at the Fairfax Feed Store in the bed east of the screened-in back porch. What a delight these three plants have been!

                When I planted the healthy, little Celebrity tomato plants in that east bed, I had no idea how prolific they would be, especially one of them. During the first half of each day, the east sun beamed down on the trio of fledgling plants for the precise amount of time – not too much or too little. The back porch protected them from the blistering afternoon sun so the thriving tomato triplets utilized the water effectively.

Thriving, but an out-of-control plant

                 Overnight, it seemed, the tomato plant in the southernmost part of the east bed grew so prolifically, as Dad would say “it outgrew itself." The productive plant was loaded with tiny, yellow blooms. I headed to the little green house shed where I stored the electric fence posts. They made perfect stakes for tomatoes last year.

                This flourishing plant required unique support. It had sprung up so profusely it demanded not one stake nor two, but its size necessitated three electric fence posts be re-purposed as stakes.

Three makeshift stakes.

                 The three bolstering stakes revolutionized the look of the plant, lifting the fruit of the Celebrity star of the 2018 summer. As the summer progressed, the little tomato plant on the southeast corner of the back porch bed produced delicious, homegrown tomatoes. There's hardly any food better.

                Recently, as I picked the ripe tomatoes, I thought of a bolstering incident in the Bible. In Exodus 17, God led Moses into battle with the Amalekites, an ancient terrorist-type group who had attacked the Israelites as they moved through the wilderness when exiting Egypt. God demanded justice for the ruthless Amalekites attacking all the stragglers…tired and weary; and did not fear God. (Deuteronomy 25:18) As the battle raged on, the people of God were victorious as Moses kept his hands raised. When the hands of Moses fell limp to his side, the Amalekites “prevailed.” Aaron, the brother of Moses, and Hur stepped to each side of Moses and lifted each of his hands. The scripture states, “…his hands were steady until the going down of the sun.” The Israeli army led by Joshua defeated the brutal Amalekite army.

                What a vivid picture of the need to bolster others, in this case, the leader! Leaders in our government at all levels need to be supported through prayer. Scripture clearly teaches a command to pray for those “in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. (I Timothy 2:2)

                Just prior to the exhortation to pray for leaders, Paul reminded Timothy to pray and make intercession for all people. As Aaron and Hur lifted up Moses’s hands, we must bolster those around us with our prayers for them. Our words of encouragement provide strength along with our willingness to support through our physical assistance as God directs in those lives that cross our paths.

                The thriving tomato plant became even more productive because of the three stakes I strategically placed around the plant. May we look for those we can support, anticipating the day we can rejoice and thank the Lord for the success we see in those lives we bolstered. 

Thriving  - with Support