Serving God

I never chose to move out here for myself, but to serve God. This past summer I have been having lots of opportunities to do just that.

One way I have been serving God is by sharing the bounty in my garden. When I planted that garden last spring I dedicated the garden to the Lord and asked him to make it bountiful so I could share with those in need.

This has been a tough summer to try and have a garden. Texas has been in a severe historic drought. It has never been this bad ever. The dry conditions have allowed our temperatures to sky rocket. While much of the country was just beginning to thaw out from winter we were already hitting triple digits here (100f = 38C). Because of these conditions many folks never even bothered to plant a garden. Those that did often had poor results. For instance, I do not know of a single person in this county who managed to grow tomatoes. They all had the same problem—no flowers. I planted tomatoes but in my case the plants got eaten before they got big enough to even think of flowering.

I may not have had any success growing tomatoes, but God did answer my prayer. I have been harvesting zucchini, yellow squash, cucumbers, arugula, mesclun greens (for salad), and basil all summer. Nothing else I planted grew but I have harvested so much squash and cucumbers that I have shared with quite a few people. Most folks are in shock that my garden has produced anything. I really believe I have had a harvest because my garden was dedicated to God with the purpose of sharing and so God has blessed it.

I just planted a fall garden. I have no idea if anything will grow but if I do get blessed I will be sure to share with others.

Before I owned my own car I use to get occasional rides from friends. Now I am providing that service to one of my neighbors, who I have become good friends with. This elderly couple lives about 3 miles from me. The husband gets all his medical care at the Veterans Administration (VA) clinics and hospital. He usually goes to the clinic in Kerrville, which is an hour east of us. Last month they wanted him to have some special tests that can only be performed at the VA hospital in San Antonio. They do not know San Antonio that well but I do. So I said I would drive them. I have now driven them to the San Antonio VA several times. On one occasion it was for exploratory surgery and all three of us had to stay overnight in a hotel. He has several more scheduled appointments at the San Antonio VA hospital which I will be driving both of them too. Every trip to San Antonio is always a full day affair.

Besides these tests, last month the husband had a mild stroke on a Sunday morning. It affected his ability to speak and understand what others are saying. I was at church when the husband finally was able to ask for me and his wife called. I rushed to their house and managed to talk him into letting me drive them to the VA hospital. He was admitted that evening, upon which his wife and I returned home. We made the 120 mile (193 km) drive back to San Antonio that Monday and again that Wednesday. He was released on Wednesday but he still had a doctor’s appointment that Friday. So I put 1000 miles (1,600 km) on my car just that week.

The husband’s speech is improving daily but he may have kidney cancer. We should find out next week at his next doctor’s appointment in San Antonio. I promised them I would be there for them and I intend to keep my word.

I am also keeping busy these days trying to learn Dreamweaver, which is web design software. I have viewed some tutorials during the past few months and have learned a lot but still need to learn a lot more. Designing web sites is a very tedious and time consuming activity. It is not easy at all, especially when using new software. I have just begun the process so I do not expect to have the new site finished for some time now. Most likely I will still be working on it next year.