P.O.W.E.R.* Girl IV - Ch. 10 - Planning Grace Gardens Free Reprint Article

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P.O.W.E.R.* Girl IV - Ch. 10 - Planning Grace Gardens

by Tonja Taylor
6/06/2023 / Short Stories

“Okay, kids, let’s decide what will be in our gardens,” said Pearl’s mother. “Burt said we could have three acres, but I told him we will start with one. That will be plenty, with everything else we have going on!”

“Aren’t we having bees?” Pearl said. “We can have honey!”

“Sweetie, we are having Mason bees, and they don’t really make honey,” said her mother. “Honeybees make the honey, and there’s a lot more involved. I think Burt plans to have honeybees later, but we have discovered Mason bees, which are much more efficient pollinators—”

“What’s efficient again, please?” Pearl said, picking up Vivace to pet her.

“Dear, you interrupted me again,” said her mother patiently. “Please wait till I finish talking, OK? That is a skill that helps all of us.”

“Yes ma’am,” said Pearl. “Does efficient mean doing a good job?”

“You could say that,” her mother said. “It means doing a good job without wasting time or supplies.”

I need to be better at that! thought Pearl.

“Thank you, Queen Mother,” Pearl said.

Her mother smiled. “You’re welcome. So, we have one acre—about 42,000 square feet. That is plenty of space for you two to get started with, and Xi will be able to help some, of course, around her work for Ms. Sophia.”

“Wow, that’s a lot!” said Robert.

Wow, LORD, thought Pearl, growing all this stuff to sell and give is a little scary, but a lot exciting!

“It will be your P.E. some days, because it will definitely be exercise!” she said. “Now, I want us all to make a list of what foods we’d like to plant.”

Ooh, thought Pearl. This is great—growing our own food! I want bananas, pineapple, apples, kiwis, cherries, blueberries, okra, popcorn, onions, red peppers, potatoes, tomatoes, little green peas.

“I’m getting hungry just thinking about all these good foods!” she said.

“I just want watermelon and pumpkins!” said Robert. “And chocolate cake!”

“You can’t grow cake, silly,” said Pearl, and giggled. “You have to make it!”

“Hmpf!” he said, scowling at her. “There may be a cake plant, Pearl! God can do anything!”

Their mother laughed. “God can do anything, Rob, but Pearl is correct. No cake plant has been discovered yet, although scientists are still finding new species of animals, and maybe plants, in Madagascar and other places across the ocean. If the climate will work, we probably could grow the plants for the cocoa beans; where the chocolate comes from, at least.”

“What’s climate mean?” asked Rob.

“My smart son, I’m glad you asked,” said his mother. “Pearl, why don’t you tell him?”

“Climate means how the weather acts all year long, not just for one week or so,” she said. “Right?”

“Correct,” said her mother. “So we’re adding weather as a mini-topic to our gardening science today. Okay, so here’s what I wrote: Saffron, oregano, basil, and poblano peppers. These crops will not take much room,” she said. “Pearl, what’s on your list?”

Pearl read it, and her mother said, “Sweetie, pineapple, cherries, and bananas don’t grow here, nor do kiwis, so cut those from your list, please.”

“We can still get them at the store, though, right?” said Pearl.

“Of course--in season, anyway,” her mother said. “They are shipped in from other states, where the climate is different.”

“What’s climate?” asked Robert.

“Tell him, Pearl,” said their mother.

“Climate is how the weather acts over a long time, like for a year or so. Temperature is just the weather for this week, like if it’s hot or cold. Like this week, it’s cold!” Pearl told him. She did a search on her phone for growing cocoa beans.

“Good job, that’s right,” said their mother. “Thank you.” She turned to her son. “So what is climate, Rob?”

He told her, and she patted his shoulder. “Good memory!”

He smiled. “When can we do the garden?”

“It’s too cold outside,” said his mother, “but we can plant some seeds indoors right now, and put them in the utility room, where the sun comes through the window.”

“Yes, and it’s too cold in the USA to grow cocoa bean plants, either, even in Florida and Hawaii,” Pearl said. At least I remembered to use my phone to search the net!

“Thank you, Pearl,” said their mother. “Oh well, Rob, we’ll just have to buy organic chocolate powder. But we can still grow watermelons and pumpkins.”

“What about putting them in the screened in porch?” asked Pearl.

“Lots of good sun there, when it shines, but it’s still too cold—till spring break or so,” said her mom. “They need more warmth, so the utility room it is. We can rearrange things to put them on the shelves, if needed, and store some things on the porch. I know Burt won’t mind.”

"Queen Mother, I know he won't mind if we give some of the food away to those who need it. Let's call them Grace Gardens, okay?"

“Sure, Princess," said her mother. "Great idea! God blesses us to bless others, and you know Burt is all about that!" She looked on her phone. "Right now, we can get some little biodegradable seed starter kits,” she said. “They won’t take much room, and then we can put them right in the ground when it’s time to plant outdoors. I bet Burt can find some this week, when he buys groceries."

“Hey!” Pearl said, “this is fun! We’re going to have lots of good food—our very own veggies and stuff! Lots to eat, and lots to give away!”

“Yes,” her mother said. “God creates the seeds, and teaches us to plant and water them, and He makes them grow, like the Word says. This will be good timing, too—to get the garden really going, and start making other changes.”

“Changes?” said Pearl.

“Yes!” said her mother. “Around that time, Ms. Sophia will have finished her training, and Xi can move in. You’ll have your room all to yourself, Pearl—until the wedding, at least!”

“Oh yeah,” Pearl said. She hugged Vivace. “I’ve kind of enjoyed Xi being there, although we haven’t talked much lately, ‘cause she’s been so busy.”

Her mother reached over and hugged her, and held her a few moments. Then she hugged Robert. “You both have been such troopers for me, with all these big changes.” She looked a little sad for a moment, then smiled. “The LORD is so good! It’s such a wonderful plan of His for Xi to work for Ms. Sophia, and become her foster daughter. Ms. Sophia is such a gift to us all!”

“I love Ms. Sophia!” said Robert, drawing pictures on his paper of the crops. “I bet she’ll like my watermelons and pumpkins!”

Thank You, Jesus, for the new sweetness of You in my little brother! Pearl thought. “She loves you too, Rob,” said Pearl. “She’ll like anything you do. You’re special!”

He beamed. “Yep! Jesus made me special!”

“Amen!” said their mother. “Now, other changes we need to get ready for are that we’re going to be moving to Ms. Sophia’s house.”

“What?” Robert said. He got out of his chair, and started jumping up and down. “Great! Great! I can’t wait!” he said. “Why can’t we do it now, Mama?”

Hey, Jesus, that would be great, if Robert moved there now! Pearl thought. Can we do that?

Pearl’s mother laughed. “I can tell from the look on your face that you really like that idea, huh, my darling daughter?”

Pearl nodded. “Busted!” she said, and giggled.

“What?” Rob said, sitting and drawing again. “Now, I’m drawing a picture of me at Ms. Sophia’s house! And my pumpkins and watermelons are there too!” he said.

Let it be, LORD! thought Pearl. She giggled again, cause her mother was watching her. I think she is reading my thoughts, Daddy God! But, I’ve put up with him this long, and now he is saved by Your blood….Like Queen Mother says sometimes, it just gets better from here!

Tonja and her husband live to exalt God. They lift Him up in books (P.O.W.E.R. Girl!; LEGACY; Visions of the King; Your Holy Health; more); presentations; service in church, community, and the world; and via the "River Rain Creative" (309 videos) and "POWERLight Learning" You Tube channels.

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