Fruits and Roots
Many people lived with us when I was growing up. We had a big compound. We had different types of fruits and vegetables in our house. I remember my father would tie nets under the trees to catch the fruits as they fall. They would not fall to the ground. When they are ripe they fall into the net. Think about it. That's very smart. My father fought in the Boer War, so when he returned he came back with a lot of different fruits and vegetables from South Africa. The house was full of food. We even gave some to our neighbors. That's a big lesson I learnt from my parents and it fueled my love for gardening. I love gardening and eating fruits from my small farm. My parents were Catholics. My mother was very senior in the Catholic church. So when I was born again, she and my dad did not like it. My dad said I had forgotten my identity and my roots. I challenged this. I was learning that as a believer, I was grafted into the family of Abraham. I am Jewish in that way. Those are my new roots. I used to sneak into the bathroom to read my Bible because no one read the Bible in my house. I wanted to join the Scripture Union on Sunday afternoons but my mother said no. My mother was always afraid that someone would kidnap me or something. She tried to make sure our Sundays were busy so I could not go. She would make me cook and cook. It was very frustrating. I told myself one day when I have my own children how I take them to bible study myself.