BROWN SUGAR

Today,

the truck pulled over  

just to take a wintry snapshot 

of this leftover sugar cane field .

A quick little messenger ran across my brain 

towing its banner behind....

"This one will be titled Brown Sugar..."

Brown and still struggling to survive 

in temperatures way colder 

than it was made to thrive.

It makes me think of Millet's famous painting...

Gleaners 1857 

of the peasants picking through the reaper's leftovers

in order to sustain their lives.

to glean: to gather leftover grain or produce 

after the harvest

It also makes me think of living in the bible days.

Back then,

gleaning was a household term 

to insure that all were fed.

Even 2000 years ago...

God created a plan

to care for those in need.

When you reap the harvest of your land, 

do not reap to the very edges of your field 

or gather the gleanings of your harvest.

Leviticus 19:9

The farmer would reap his harvest leaving behind the missed grain for the poor and the needy.

Let me go to the fields and pick up the leftover grain.

Ruth 2:2

This crop of brown sugar left behind

in the cold

has most of all triggered 

an urgency in my heart to help 

a sweet family that lost there mom and wife

just before Christmas.

Just like you,

I have never met this family

but 

I can only imagine how the father must feel

trying to take his wife's role as a mother

to their 8 children that were left behind.

I can only imagine

how the children must feel

standing in the field

and waiting for her warmth to return.

So if anyone is moved to glean

their closets for clothes,

their pockets for coins,

their house for hominess,

and their time for prayers....

please contact me

and I will let you know how to 

send some of your love and warmth their way.

So far the only information that has been shared

 is that the children's ages

range from 12 years to 12 months of age.  

The mom was very young and passed away while giving birth to their 9th child.  

She had an overabundance of love to give and worked as a home aid to assist families with children who have special needs.

More information will follow if interest is revealed to  helping this family.

Let's continue to add some 

sugar with a touch of molasses 

to the lives of those in need!!!

Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means 

caring for orphans and widows in their distress 

and refusing to let the world corrupt you."

James 1:27