“When someone steals another’s clothes, we call them a thief.
Should we not give the same name to one who could clothe the naked and does not?
The bread in your cupboard belongs to the hungry;
the coat unused in your closet belongs to the one who needs it;
the shoes rotting in your closet belong to the one who has no shoes;
the money which you hoard up belongs to the poor.”
Basil the Great
(a freshly watered monarch butterfly caterpillar, who happens to be eating the
new baby parsley / Julie Cook / 2017)
In the waning days of summer, as the humidity races skyward to meet the relentless
midday sun, those once ever hopeful potted plants and herbs…
those once oh so spry, succulent green and promising beauties, are one by one,
beginning to loose the will to survive.
A southern sun will do that to you.
The dill has long gone to seed as have the parsley and the basil.
Drooping, drying out and dying is the current game of the summer garden party.
As it’s really just time to cut things back, pull things up and simply
hang on for a couple of more months until the heat just might slowly begin
to retreat.
This tiny new parsley plant hasn’t got nary a chance now that the monarch caterpillars
have found it.
Despite my watering, they remain unfazed…
eating and constantly devouring around the clock until everything is gone…
as they fatten themselves up, preparing for the time of transformation…
Because who can complain about the birth of a butterfly….
(all images of both the Monarch and or Eastern Black Swallowtail caterpillars /
Julie Cook / 2017)
Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have,
for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.
Hebrews 13:16
cookiecrumbstoliveby 
Those caterpillars are amazing and so too will be the butterflies that come. It’s all about renewal & the life cycle.
the only reason I turn a blind eye to the fact that what parsley and dill that I still have will soon be gone 🙂
Worth it for the transformation?
It is… as in the butterflies will in turn help pollinate my little potted Meyer lemon tree and calamondin trees
Excellent!
Beautiful pictures. Lovely words. I have just a mild criticism of Basil the Great, and really not him. I just have an observation. Hyperbole is a dangerous thing. Some take it literally.
The one who could clothe the naked and does not is not a thief.
The bread in my cupboard does belongs to the hungry;
the coat unused in my closet does belong to the one who needs it;
the shoes rotting in my closet does not belong to the one who has no shoes;
the money which I hoard up belongs to God.
He probably is disappointed with my stewardship.
Prideful, foolish people take hyperbole like Basil the Great’s as their excuse for redistributing “other people’s” wealth, thinking they can right some sort of wrong. Do they do it for God’s sake? That’s doubtful. The poor’s sake? Of course not. They do it for pride’s sake.
Robbery is not the crime of the so-called wealthy. Their sin — our sin, my sin — is neglecting to store up treasures in heaven (Matthew 6:19-21). Instead of sending what we can on ahead of us, we leave our works to mold in closets and and rust in safes where they do no one any good.
All for the sake of two words, “I have”, I have wasted so much my labors.
I hear you Tom and whereas I don’t take his words to be a mantra for the socialist progressives out there, as in the redistribution from a few to the all, I do look at them as a reminder that my own often unnecessary “gathering” habits could be put to better use elsewhere — as in I have all the shoes I need! 🙂
And I’ve learned that I need to plant extra parsley ! 🐛🦋
What a blessed post…thank you for reminding us of God’s expectation to bless others.
Mark 25:34, “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, 36 I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? 38 When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? 39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’
40 “The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
44 “They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’
45 “He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’
46 “Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”
Unto the least of these 😇
Amen!
Reblogged this on Talmidimblogging.
🙂 Thank you little gw
😍You’re very welcome Julie 😍
I grew up believing that people should help each other in times of need. The churches used to do this within the community until government stepped in. Part of our service to God includes serving others. We really need to start thinking this way and stop depending on others to deal with it. Then we will all become butterflies.
I’ll probably be a moth….
NO YOU WONT! Only beautiful butterflies!
🐛🦋🐌
The quote from Basil the Great is great.
Thank you David
There is a great deal of difference in giving away one’s extra shoes and coats willingly from what socialism is. Socialism demands I give the shoes away; that is a great deal different than someone giving from a charitable heart.
Amen Oneta!!!
I love love love caterpillars and butterflies. I’m so glad to see signs of monarchs. You’ve had some great critter events of late. Love, N 🙂 ❤
Beautiful post Julie. 🙂