The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. John 1:5

Planting Potatoes

 Planting potatoes is one of my favorite things to do in the garden because it's one of the earliest and because potatoes are one of my favorite foods. But all those carbs! you say. Yes, but there's a lot of good nutrition in the lowly potato. Before the blight of 1845 began, resulting in crop failures and famine, all of Ireland survived on potatoes. The potato was first grown in South America, and though there's low potato production there today, there are still about 4,000 unique varieties of potatoes grown in the Andes region. Yes, 4,000! In our world of limited supermarket choices--yellow, red, or Idaho--that much variety seems incredible.

 Before planting day I "chit" seed potatoes, meaning I expose them to light to allow the eyes to sprout and grow a bit before planting them out. Then it's time to "throw up a ridge" as my mother used to say of using her hoe to pull a row of tilled garden soil up into a ridge in which to plant. At intervals, holes are then dug in the ridge for each chitted potato or piece of potato to be planted deep in the soft soil. As the potato leafs, and the leaves reach toward the sun, I pull soil over them. Covering the leaves this way a few times encourages longer underground stem growth as the leaves reach toward the light again, and the longer the stem, the more potatoes will develop along it.

 Do you ever feel like that early spring potato plant? Like just when you think you've finally risen into the sunshine, another load of dirt is piled on? You've been plunged back into darkness again and have to work hard (again!) to get your head above water, or well, dirt in this case. Maybe your "dirt" is financial, maybe it's medical, maybe it's any number of circumstances or difficulties. Maybe someone is "casting shade" your way. Jesus said,"In this world you will have trouble," (not "might" have trouble, but "will") "But take heart," he goes on to say, "I have overcome the world" (John 16:33). Now that's an encouraging promise!

 The Romans 8:28 of any trouble may not be apparent at the time, but may later come clear. Or not. Sometimes we never really know why we've had to sing "nobody knows the trouble I've seen" yet again. But "we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose" (Romans 8:28).

 Just like with the humble potato plant, the only way out for us is up, toward the light of Christ.

Daye Phillippo

May 2021