Of Cups and Nuts

A teachable lesson for those planting a garden for the first time:

Cups and Nuts

What do cups and nuts, of all things, have in common

if in the vegetable garden they're growing?

Beware, don't plant these cups and nuts side-by-side

or the visiting bees will pollinate inside

then the cups end up intermingled with the nuts

or maybe the nuts will get mixed up in the cups!

One year I had cups and nuts mixed up!

They were so hard I could hardly cut!

Some were most oddly shaped and colored

from the bees pollinating their flowers.

These cups and nuts taught me a lesson

so to you I'm embarrassingly confessing.

Perhaps you'll learn from my mistakes

before you get out your seeds and rake.

Now I plant cups on the north

and the nuts on the south

or the cups on the west

and the nuts on the east.

Or the cups on the south

and the nuts on the north

or the cups on the east

and the nuts on the west.

The seeds of these cups and nuts may look the same.

The leaves of cups and nuts are similarly famed.

But their shapes are different and unique

as is their buttery flavor, I think.

Cups and nuts are my most favorite vegetable

full of Vitamin A and good-for-me minerals.

Their blooms are golden yellow

which attract bees when they flower.

Cups and nuts are not a bush.

They grow on vines; they're winter squash!

They are round green buttercups

and pear-shaped golden butternuts.

Did you already guess?

Vegetable cups and nuts

are winter squash!

Honey bees love these cups and nuts.

The day before frost is forecasted

be sure your cups and nuts are harvested,

then let them cure for a week

to ensure their flavor is sweet.

To easily cook your cups and nuts,

cut in half and scoop out the seeds, then put

in a roasting pan to roast

for 90 minutes at most.

So that's the tale of cups and nuts.

I hope you don't think I'm nuts.

* * * * *

This application is about being at wit's end.

Something I do not wish for you, my friend.

But when this does happen to all of us from time-to-time,

know that God is with you and will give you peace of mind.

At wits' end when ones child is ill

and tears before God in heaven spill.

At wits' end through difficult seasons of unemployment,

when savings have been spent, when life has lost its enjoyment.

At wits' end because of a diagnosis

that's only cured through prayer and God's promise.

At wits' end when relationships erode

and it seems to be the end of the road.

At wits' end when needs are unmet

and you're ended up with endless debt.

At wits' end when life is topsy-turvy

and you're hanging on – but just barely.

When, not if, you're at wits' end

know on God you can depend

for He comes alongside like a friend

and is there to tend, to defend, to mend.

Know on the Lord you can depend

time after time and again,

and is there when

you need Him.

The righteous cry out,

and the Lord hears them;

he delivers them from all their troubles.

The Lord is close to the brokenhearted

and save those who are crushed in spirit.

A righteous man may have many troubles,

but the Lord delivers him from the mall.

Psalm 34:17-19

Unless the Lord had given me help,

I would soon have dwelt in the silence of death.

When I said, “My foot is slipping,”

your love, O Lord, supported me.

When anxiety was great within me,

your consolation brought joy to my soul.

Psalm 94:19

For he spoke and stirred up a tempest

that lifted high the waves.

They mounted up to the heavens

and went down to the depths;

in their peril their courage melted away.

They reeled and staggered like drunken men;

they were at their wits' end.

They they cried out to the Lord in their trouble,

and he brought them out of their distress.

He stilled the storm to a whisper;

the waves of the sea were hushed.

They were glad when it grew calm,

and he guided them to their desired haven.

Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love

and his wonderful deeds for men.

Psalm 107:25-31

A crossbreed.

Life Is a Garden Party

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