3 Easy Plants to Forage for Beginners

 Hello everyone!

I have been fighting a cold so I have been home more. This means I have more time to research one of my favorite interests:  Foraging Wild Edibles. 

When I first started foraging, an older neighbor lady advised me to learn one new plant a year. That is a goal even an expert procrastinator like me can achieve! So, for nearly two decades, I focused on one plant a year. 

Our grocery budget and the prices at our local supermarket are not exactly compatible these days making foraging more than just a hobby. It seems many other people, all across the world, are in the same boat, or even worse off.

Here are some helpful questions to get us started.

Why Forage

Maybe this isn't the first question I asked when I decided to start learning about useful plants, but it probably should have been. In fact, it wasn't until THIS year that I really examined the why.

All these years I imagined a future day when we would have to escape into the woods and survive solely on the food God provides for us. I imagined our little family living like the natives used to and me cooking over a campfire.

But, reality usually doesn't end up bringing us to the extreme places our minds imagine. The REAL reason most people forage is not to completely live on ONLY foraged food. Foraged wild food supplements our diet.

I remember one of my many wise aunts showing me a mallow leaf and explaining how this little plant saved lives during WW2 because it is packed with nutrients. Most people had some food, but Mallow gave them the vitamins they needed. Mallow is a rather small weed. To be realistic, they probably only ate maybe one leaf a day. Many survival advisors say to include vitamins in emergency supply kits! Mallow is one of nature's vitamins.

Many dark green little herbs we usually trample with our feet can be very beneficial to us, and not just in survival situations. 

So, this year I switched my why from gaining enough knowledge to survive solely on foraged food (I didn't consciously have this as my why, but looking back that is what I was thinking.) to supplementing our diet with vitamin-packed herbs that Our Creator has provided for us right outside my back door.

Supplementing is so much simpler. Besides, most foraged foods, in my yard anyway, are much more "flavorful" than my palate finds enjoyable. Frankly, they don't taste good! 😝

Now that I have finally figured out my why is: to supplement my diet, then we are ready for the next question: What? 

What to forage

Foraging can be scary. In fact, if you aren't the least bit scared, maybe I could be bold enough to say... you shouldn't be foraging! While I believe that EVERYTHING God created has a purpose, not every green plant was created for us to eat handfuls of raw! In fact, there are a few plants that can actually kill a person! (Which, if our why is to help us survive, would be contradictory to our goal, to say the least!) 

This is probably the most important question of all, and the focus of this article. 

Start with plants that you already have some knowledge about. Plants that are easy to identify and do not have any poisonous look-alikes. And, plants that are readily available in your area (they aren't protected or rare.)

Guess what? There are 3 types of plants that most likely fit this category no matter where you live. 

1.    GRASSES - I don't know about the Arctic or the desert regions of our world, but, I think grasses grow pretty much everywhere, and, guess what? They are edible!  I think pretty much everyone can feel pretty confident in identifying grass. There are hundreds of varieties of grasses from wheat, down to the green stuff that we mow in our yards. And, none of them are going to kill you! Unless, of course, you are allergic to them, which brings me to an important rule to remember: When trying a "new to you" plant, nibble it and wait.
2.  DANDELIONS - I looked this up for this article, and yes, dandelions can be found growing nearly everywhere. There are many varieties of this common weed, including some that are not yellow! And, they are all edible. The whole plant! (Except the stem is not really palatable.) I couldn't find any poisonous look-alikes. This reminds me of another foraging rule: Always double-check a plant's ID. For children and beginners, this looks like showing the plant to someone who knows to be sure. Don't be embarrassed to ask.
   CLOVER- Thanks to the Irish, I think everyone knows what clovers look like. I'm not sure if these grow in dryer climates, but I know there are a lot of varieties and all of them are edible. The flowers, the leaves, the stems! They don't have much of a root, but they are also fine to eat if you can figure out how to. Again, don't be shy about making sure your little friend is really a clover. It must have smooth (not jagged) leaves. Even some plants that look similar are edible, including Wood Sorrel! 😋(I guess I need to think of a third rule now... hmmm.... oh, I know, Responsible Harvesting!) When harvesting what the Creator has provided for us, remember not to be greedy. Other creatures, including honeybees, rely on plants for their survival. Also, if you want to forage next year, allow some of the flowers to go to seed. Consider leaving the roots also. Moderation in all things......which somehow, (maybe my train of thought isn't as chaotic as I presumed) brings me to the next question: How?
   
   
   

How to Forage

If you are absolutely sure that you have correctly identified the plant, and you have taste-tested it to make absolutely sure your body can handle it, it is time for the fun part: harvest and prepare to eat what you have found. 

Look at where the plant is growing and how much of it you have. It is usually wise to not completely harvest the whole crop. 

Foraging is not picking a whole wheelbarrow full of plants. It is usually a small basket. Just enough to dry for tea. Or, maybe a handful to throw in the juicer to add to a smoothie, or mix with eggs for a healthy breakfast. 

Humans are not grazing livestock. We do not have several stomachs. Therefore, our digestive system isn't able to handle us chowing down on GRASS raw, by the handful. There are two parts of the grass your tummy will enjoy. The first part is the light-colored, juicy part of the grass down near the root. Young grass is also more palatable.  How do we prepare it? Think about "wheatgrass." If you aren't familiar with it, look it up! 💁  The young grass is prepared by juicing it! Juicing it breaks it down so we can digest it easier. The second part of the grass that is useful to humans is, of course, the seeds. Wheat, barley, and even lawn grass seed can be soaked, sprouted, or dried and ground for flour.

Many foraged plants are not as bland as the diet we are used to. In other words: They might taste bitter! Use them as you would an herb or spice. Add it to a pot of soup. Dry the leaves and flowers for tea! 

Some ways to enjoy them are: 

 Nibble on them fresh. 

This looks like picking a clover flower, gently pulling out a petal, and sucking out the nectar. Or, pulling one blade of grass and chewing on the soft white part, swallowing the juice, and spitting out the pulp. Or, picking a dandelion flower and eating only the soft yellow petals on a warm summer day. (I mean, you may eat the green part too, but it is pretty bitter.)

Dry them for tea.

Clover flowers and leaves make yummy tea. Don't dry dandelion flowers though, they will turn to white fluff balls!

Cook them. 

Water is a very powerful substance. You can steam, or boil, your foraged plant to make it more palatable. Add it to soups, omelets, or even some casseroles. Use your own judgment! 

Juice If you throw a handful of foraged plants in a juicer, the juicer will remove the hard-to-digest pulp for you and leave you with a vitamin-rich liquid. Don't forget to add apples, or something similar to make your juice yummy as well as healthy and easy to digest! 

                             

Have Fun Foraging

So, go outside and look around. My guess is you have at least one of these plants growing somewhere near you. This reminds me of another foraging rule: Beware of environmental contaminants.  If the plants have been sprayed with poison, or if the soil is contaminated, even edible plants can make you sick. Please assess the safety of the area you plan to forage.

Foraging teaches a beautiful truth: God provides for His children! 

I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread. Psalm 37: 25 KJV

Grandpa Kelly's Life Lesson

 Today I am going to go off track a bit and share a family story.

My father-in-law, Art, was the favorite grandson of a grumpy old man he called, Grandpa Kelly. He wasn't his biological grandpa, but he was his real grandpa because he was married to his grandma, but I can't tell you how that all went because every time I ask him to explain it to me, I get more confused. So, "Grandpa Kelly" it is!

Well, Grandpa Kelly wasn't a good Christian man. He was an old wild west man. He lived in a time and space where a common life motto was: "Every man for himself." He worked hard, played hard, and loved hard.

When Art was a teenager he often ran down the road to Grandpa Kelly's farm to help him with whatever project he was working on. The old man had worked in the woods when he was younger and still woke up early and worked hard all day.

One summer Art worked all week painting a fence along the driveway. Art enjoyed the work and Grandpa Kelly enjoyed the company. Art didn't expect a payment, but sometimes Grandpa Kelly would pay him something for his work, so he decided to ask:

"Grandpa." Art began "Can you pay me $2? I want to go to the show with my cousins."

"If you want money, you have to earn it, son."

"I've been working on the fence for you all week!"

"That was a favor. I never promised you money. Go clean the chicken house out and I'll pay you the $2."

It didn't matter that Art had worked all summer for him. But, Art didn't hold a grudge against him. He loved the old tightwad just the same. He cleaned out the barn, earned the $2, and was soon on his way to town.

If Grandpa Kelly needed something, he paid cash. It didn't matter if it was land, a tractor, or a new truck. He'd pull out a pile of green bills and pay the full amount on the spot. 

As Grandpa Kelly got older, he moved into town and only came out to the farm to visit once in a while. One day, when Art and Grandpa were alone, Grandpa Kelly got a smirk on his face. "There's gonna be a surprise when I die," he said, looking right at young Art. Art didn't know how to answer that. "Okay, Grandpa," he said and didn't think about that conversation again for quite some time.

A few months later Grandpa Kelly passed away and the family congregated as is common when a relative dies. Young Art walked into the room and all eyes were on him. "You knew him best!", "Did he tell YOU anything?" Grandpa Kelly's kids and grandkids quizzed.

"What do you mean?" Art asked.

"Everything is gone!" someone said. "His bank account is empty. Anything of worth is gone." "The tractors and trucks are gone." "Only the farm is left and the old shack."

Art paused a moment and suddenly remembered the strange conversation from a few months back. He leaned his head back and began to laugh.

"What's so funny!" his step-cousins demanded. "Where is the money?" his uncles asked.

"I don't know." Art admitted. "All I know is Grandpa Kelly said there was going to be a surprise, so I guess this is it!" With that, he walked out the door and drove home. Leaving the bickering relatives to figure this out on their own.

Some people wonder if the money is hidden on the old farm somewhere. Some think he willed it to the pretty young lady who kept his books. But, when I hear stories of this oldtimer, I picture an old man, on his last visit to the old farm, sitting next to a roaring fire. He smiles as he takes a sip from his canteen. He pulls out a stack of money from his coat pocket. $100 dollar bills. One by one he throws them into the fire and laughs each time the flames lick them up. No one is going to frivolously spend the money he worked so hard to save. Hard work didn't hurt him and it won't hurt them either.

I had the privilege of visiting with an elderly lady from the same generation as Grandpa Kelly. She told of marrying young. Two teenagers in love. No money to speak of. Just enough to buy a buckboard and a horse. They would work together logging. One tree at a time. She would drive the horse, and he would saw down the tree. She would hook the log up to the buckboard and haul it away while her sweetheart started on the next tree. By the time of her death, her family owned land all over the Pacific Northwest. She lived in a beautiful cabin built by her husband and son back "before the mountain blew." (Mt. Saint Helens, 1980) She had traveled all over the world on expensive trips, yet lived simply. As I talked with her, I could imagine Grandpa Kelly. I could see him laughing. And, I heard the lesson. But, I didn't laugh. 

Somehow, I suppose, I am a child of my generation too. I wonder what a life like that is worth. Working from sunup to sundown, accumulating wealth, land, and whatever money can buy. And for some reason, I remember another story of an old man and a barn and plenty. That man didn't even get to enjoy all that he had stored up. 

What is it all worth? All of that, that they accumulated? What does it help at the end? 

Neither Grandpa Kelly nor the lady I visited seemed happy. They were harsh and grumpy. But, their needs were met. Or, were they? What does a human really need?

Maybe learning from previous generations isn't about trying to emulate them. It's not to recreate the "good old days." Maybe it is to show us something more. As my parents always told me, "Learn from our mistakes and do better."

I think I'm going to go read Ecclesiastes again.

Have a wonderful week and let me know what previous generations have taught you about life.

Watch the Women

 It's been a while since I told a Bible story, so I thought I would write one this week. I usually write about women, because, well, I am a woman. I don't know, I guess I just can relate to those stories better. This is the third story I have started writing this weekend. The first one was Deborah and Jael, but, that story is so intense on its own, I just couldn't seem to do it justice. Then I thought, Miriam. That would be an easy story to tell and it is the right season for it. But, then I remembered a sermon my Dad gave many times as I was growing up. In that sermon, he mentioned these women I am about to tell you about. He said, "Watch the women." Many people get confused about the order of what happened during the last few chapters of the gospels. I presume a lot of the confusion is because this was a very stressful time in the lives of the disciples of Jesus. Whether they wrote the accounts themselves or verbally shared them with someone years later, it is easy to feel the emotion and intensity of the week. Sometimes it is hard to tell how much time passes between chapters, or even verses!

 The women are there too. Busy. Watching. Doing. If we watch them, so much of the storyline falls into place. I am going to try to not add too much, but I do want to put feelings and emotions in, so here we go...

The women could tell something was about to happen. Jesus seemed stressed and serious as he ate at Simon's house. They had a lot to do since Passover was only a couple days away, but this was an important dinner. Mary was gone, as usual when there was work to be done, but Martha had learned to let Mary be Mary. Martha could do what she loved to do, cook and prepare and plan! And, Mary could make Jesus feel welcome in other ways. By listening and watching. And so it was, this evening (two days before Passover) here she came. Late! Everyone was already eating. She had been to the market. She quietly came in, very somber, and walked right up to Jesus and began to anoint him with the expensive ointment she had bought. The beautiful aroma filled the room, the whole house. The other ladies came to see what was happening. They got teary-eyed. It was a very emotional time. Would this be the last time they saw Jesus? What was going to happen next? He had been saying some peculiar things that no one quite understood. Martha busied herself with preparations, letting Mary handle the raw emotions of the moment.

 "Thank you, Mary," she may have told her later. "That was a very thoughtful gift. It meant a lot to Jesus. I don't think of things like that." 

"It's okay. Martha, we would all starve if I had to prepare the food!" Jesus had taught them how to love each other, and even appreciate the ways they were different.

A day later the women were busy preparing for their families' Passover celebrations. Meanwhile, the disciples were preparing the upper room. Jesus wanted to have Passover with His disciples before he was crucified. 

After dinner was cleaned up, they probably went to bed, not realizing that Jesus was about to be arrested. In the morning (it would have been a Wednesday on our calendar), Mary, the Mother of Jesus, came and told the other women that Jesus had been arrested. What a horrible day that was. The women cried and prayed and held each other. Suddenly their world stopped. Nothing else mattered. They left their chores half done. They ran to find the disciples.

It wasn't hard to find Him. They could hear the crowd from the other side of town. "Crucify him!" They ran to try to see him. There Peter and John were. They were crying. The women began to wail, "No! No! Not Jesus!" As they caught sight of Him bloody and weak, carrying a heavy cross. They had seen many hauled off to be crucified, and it was always horrible, but this was... no words could describe it. 

Mary's heart was broken. "You have done it for my burial" Jesus' words rang in her ears. "It wasn't enough." she thought. Nothing she could ever do would be enough to repay Him for all He had done for her. 

She held Jesus' Mother. The older woman's whole body shook each time the soldiers struck a nail. They wouldn't leave him now! These strong women stayed. They got as close as they were allowed to. They lost all track of time. "Do you think he knows that I am here, that I haven't left him?" his Mother asked Mary. "Yes. He knows. He knows everything."

They heard him say he forgave the people who were cruelly torturing him. They heard the soldier's and the thief's words. They felt the earthquake and held each other as darkness fell in the middle of the day. More of their friends came, and soon several women were there. Watching. Crying. Holding each other. (Matthew 27:56)

Suddenly, Jesus looked right at his mother. John was nearby too. He told John to take care of his Ima. That was just like him. Always thinking about others. Even when he was in the worst pain a human could experience (the Romans made sure of that), he was thinking of other people.

They heard him begin to recite Psalm 22, and then he died.

"The veil of the temple just ripped!" they heard someone say. They wondered what it all meant. 

Good old Joseph came towards them. He had requested Jesus' body. The soldiers made sure he was dead by suddenly piercing his side with a long spear. Blood and water gushed out. Jesus' mother about fainted and began to wail again, but her sisters held her. They watched Joseph and Nicodemus wrap his bruised, mutilated body. They followed the procession, crying. 

When they all got to the tomb, the women whispered, "It is dear Joseph's tomb. He is laying Jesus in his own tomb. He is a good man!" The women knew the place well. They made sure to look exactly where he was buried. 

The sun would be down soon, which would bring the 15th day of the first month of the year. The days started at sunset on the Hebrew calendar. The 15th was the high day Sabbath, no matter which day of the week it landed on. It was the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread (Leviticus 23: 6,7). This meant the women only had a short time, from the time Jesus was laid in the tomb, until the beginning of the High Day Sabbath. The men were in a hurry to get him buried before the sun went down. (Mark 15: 42-43; John 19:31)

The market was no doubt closed by now. It was late. The sun was about to set as they hurried home. They stumbled into their houses and held their children. Martha made them eat some soup. They all cried, again... still. I presume Martha was home taking care of the little ones. Feeding them lots of yummy Passover treats. Hoping that they were unaware of the horrible things happening across town.

The high day Sabbath would have been on, what we call, Thursday that year. The women rested. They held their little ones and each other. "Sing with me, Mama!" "Let's Dance!" the children cried. But, Mama's hearts were heavy. They told the children a bit about what had happened. Jesus was dead. He had slept in the grave that night. And, he was still in the grave today. 

"Mama! Remember when Jesus said he would be in the heart of the earth for three days and three nights like Jonah was in the belly of the fish?!" one of the kids said. "Maybe he will rise again! Like Lazarus!"

"You are so sweet, but that was just a lesson he was teaching us. He is dead and there is not another Rabbi who can raise dead people."

"It was not just a parable, Mama! He is going to be alive again. He isn't going to stay dead!" a little one cried.

The Mamas cried too as the children cried, understanding that their best friend was gone. Sleeping in the heart of the earth. Waiting for the resurrection. A time that seemed so far in the future.

As the sun set for the second time since Jesus had breathed last, the High Day Sabbath was over. And as the sun rose the next morning (which would have been Friday if they used the weekday names we now use) the women woke ready to work. It was time to stop crying. They swallowed their tears and began the day. There was work to be done! Not only was it the day after the high day Sabbath, but it was also another preparation day. This time preparing for the weekly Sabbath. The "Sabbath" taught in the ten commandments (Luke 23:55). It was time to think like Martha! They hurriedly bought spices and ointments. Ladies, if you love essential oils, and have ever made your own, you have a bit of an idea of what is happening here. They bought the herbs and the oil. They put the herbs in the oil to soak over the weekly Sabbath. Right? I mean, we usually let it set longer than a day, but they maybe didn't wait so long. 

Mark, dear, young Mark, who probably heard this story second-hand, includes a rather confusing verse. Mark 16:1 "And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him. (KJV)"

While Luke says: "... they (the women)...prepared the spices and ointments; and rested the sabbath day according to the commandment. (Luke 23:56 KJV)

Guys! How could they prepare the spices before the Sabbath, and buy them after the Sabbath? Think about that for a minute. I know many guys are amazed at women and don't understand how we manage to do all the things we do. I even have friends who I am sure must have a clone because of all the things they manage to get done in a day, but, even a woman wouldn't be able to prepare something before she bought it!

But, fear not! I am a firm believer that the Bible is the infallible Word of God! There are no mistakes! "Let God be true and every man a liar." (Romans 3:4 KJV) is my favorite verse in the Bible! I believe, if something isn't matching up, it is WE who are wrong, not God's word!

But, as a woman, I can say, a lot of what we do actually has a simpler explanation than it might appear at first. I know we seem complicated. But, I will answer you as a sweet girl looks into her young husband's face and innocently says, "But, it DOES make sense! There were TWO Sabbaths that week, so I rested on the Sabbath. Then I went and bought the spices and prepared them after the Sabbath, but before the Sabbath, you know the Sabbath that it says in the commandments that we are supposed the rest on it. Remember?" And, the poor man looks at her as if she is from another world and all he sees is her smile and eyes and all he knows is that he loves her and it doesn't matter that he has absolutely no idea what she just said. 

So, poor Luke and Mark are doing their best to explain what they heard, but every time Mary begins to tell her side of the story she begins to cry and the other Mary jumps around so much in her story that we forget that it really isn't possible to buy something after you have already prepared it! But, God's story is still told and it is perfect! So, like I always told my brothers when I was growing up, "Listen to what I mean, not what I say!"

The blur of the High Day Sabbath, Preparation Day, and the weekly Sabbath (Thursday, Friday, and Saturday) brings us to a few women checking the ointment (ie- essential oils). It is after sundown, but Jesus' body has already been in the tomb for 3 days and 3 nights.

"Do you think he will stink, his body, I mean?"

"Joseph and Barnabas put some herbs on his body before they wrapped him, but they didn't have time to do much else."

"It is getting so late!"

"This always takes a lot longer to make than I think it will."

"I think the ointment has set long enough. Let's go anoint Jesus early in the morning."

" Okay, I'll be here first thing."

The women chatter away somberly. Not in quite as much shock as they had been three days ago. Ready to do what needs to be done. Ready to anoint his body. 

The next part is even more confusing, but this is the best I can make of it at this time. You see, Mary Magdelene was having an especially hard time and it seems that she may have made more than one trip to the tomb that (Saturday) night. 

Perhaps it went something like this:

Right after the sunset (on Saturday) Mary Magdalene took her cloak and walked out the door. The other Mary didn't even have to ask where she was going. She followed her. The two women knew the path well. They held onto each other as they walked in silence. 

They sat staring at the tomb. The soldiers were guarding it. They hid a ways off, sitting in silence, watching the sunset. The beautiful colors faded as the sun sunk lower below the horizon and the first day of the week began. Suddenly the ground began to shake. The frightened women screamed. The guards fainted. The women were too afraid to speak. Was it a vision? Were those angels? What was going on? It was going to be dark soon. They found themselves walking towards the tomb, "Do not be afraid," the angel told the women, "I know you are looking for Jesus. I know you watched him be crucified and die. But, he isn't here! He has risen! Come see where he lay, and then go quickly and tell his disciples that he is on his way to Galilee and they can see him there!"

The two Marys were ecstatic and terrified at the same time. They ran to find and tell the others. But, suddenly they stopped. There he was! Right in front of them. They fell at his feet and kissed them. Could Mary still smell the perfume she had anointed him with not even a week ago?

He told them not to be afraid and to tell the others he would see them in Galilee.

That was Matthew's account, now moving to John 20... Maybe it was later, maybe it wasn't sunset, maybe it was dark, maybe it was just Mary Magdelene. It was all kind of a blur. She was in shock. Had the disciples not felt the earthquake? 

Mary Magdelene ran back from the tomb, "Peter! John! Someone took Jesus' body! I don't know where they put him!"

The guys raced ahead of her to check it out. They looked in. They don't mention seeing, or hearing angels. They went back home. Were they confused? Scared? In Shock?

Mary stayed behind. She couldn't leave. She began to cry. Was the other Mary there too? Is this the same time that Matthew tells us about? 

When Mary looks inside the tomb, she sees two angels.

Then she sees Jesus, but she doesn't touch him!

The accounts are so beautifully unmatched. I won't try to figure out what exactly took place and in what order. The discrepancies show that these were real people! Tired. Stressed. Confused. Afraid. Trying to write down what happened. Not sure what was real and what was a vision. What were the exact words said? 

But whatever the course of events, we can be sure that when several of them came to the tomb, at sunrise, (Mark 16) the stone had been rolled away and Jesus had risen from the dead! The tomb was empty, and suddenly the spices and ointments didn't matter. And, we don't even care if Peter, or John, won the race to the tomb. Does it really matter if Mary Magdelene was alone, or with other women, or if she went several times that night, trying to figure out if what she had seen was real?

What matters is what they all agree on: The tomb was empty! Jesus did meet them, several times, and was very much alive and talking and walking and it was REAL!!

And, then, I suppose, they went home and told the children that their friend was alive, and I suppose those little ones said, "I told you he would come back, Mommy!" 

I have no reason to believe that there was a child who said that, or even that any of those women busily preparing spices between the Sabbaths had little children at this time. But, knowing little children, I wouldn't be surprised!

Sweeping Out the Leaven

 I was watching a YouTube video posted by a gentlewoman on the other side of this continent from me. She was sharing how she prepares for Passover. It sounded like she said that she cleans out the leaven AFTER Passover dinner! I grabbed my Bible, presuming she had misspoken, but there it was in black and white. "...the first day ye shall put away leaven out of your houses." Ex. 12:15 (KJV) The Feast of Unleavened Bread begins on the 15th of the first month and ends on the 21st. Passover is on the 14th!

 Suddenly I saw a picture in my mind of what all this pointed TO! Another verse popped into my head "...while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8 KJV

And yet, here I am scrubbing my house to prepare for Passover. -trying to make it clean. -trying to find every last piece of leaven before we sit down to partake of the Lord's Supper. But, these Feast Days are object lessons! They show us, by using physical things, a spiritual truth.

Guys! ("Guys" is the Northwestern version of "y'all" 😉) We can fast all month! We can scrub our houses from top to bottom. But, we can NEVER make ourselves clean! We can never DO enough to be worthy to partake of the Passover.

His sacrifice comes first!

The Lamb of God, who died for the sins of the whole world, died while we were still IN SIN! Our "houses" still contained "leaven". We were still in Egypt. We were still slaves! 

We didn't have to rescue ourselves. We just had to be ready to follow Him.

Our spiritual journey of being saved parallels the Israelites' deliverance from Egypt. As we prepare our hearts and homes for Passover may we remember that we cannot be good enough on our own strength. We need to apply the blood of the Lamb to the doorpost of our hearts. That is the only way we can be saved. Having a clean house didn't keep the death angel away. Only the blood of the lamb did. In the same way, us giving up something we like, or cleaning our house, doesn't cleanse us, only the blood of Jesus can do that!

Do you know what happens when the house begins to fill with the aroma of a special meal cooking and fresh bread baking? We WANT to tidy up the house! We WANT to throw away the old stale bread! It is not tempting at all! Old things have passed away! 

When we become children of God, He calls us first! Then, we have a choice. Do we want to accept His sacrifice for our sins, or do we want to stay in bondage? He doesn't force us. When we accept His sacrifice for our sins it is like the blood is being applied to the doorposts of our hearts. Our identity changes. We are no longer slaves to sin, but are still living in Egypt. When we become "new creatures", He gives us the strength to clean out all that old leaven. -the old beliefs that only brought death. 

I Corinthians 5:7-8 (KJV) says: "Therefore let us keep the feast, not with the leaven of malice and wickedness; but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth."

Yes, we should examine our hearts.

Yes, we should make peace with those we may have wronged throughout the year.

But, WE cannot make ourselves worthy of partaking of the Lord's Supper. Only Jesus can do that!

Later on in I Corinthians Paul goes back to talking about Passover.

 "For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come. Wherefore whosever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But, let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body." I Corinthians 11: 26-29 KJV

What makes us "unworthy"?

Is it being human? Is it making mistakes? Is it forgetting to read our Bible sometimes? Or, could it be a heart thing? Is it not accepting Jesus' sacrifice for our sins? -not allowing Him to change our hearts. -continuing to be hateful and wicked and mean. Not loving God, or people. Being prideful and arrogant. Pushing ahead as if we are good on our own power and don't need the blood of the Lamb to protect us.

What makes us "worthy"?

Going without our favorite activity, or food for a month? Walking a mile on our knees? Piercing our own skin with nails until we bleed as Christ did? Looking at our own lives and deciding what we need to change? Or, humbly asking our Heavenly Father to show us areas that we need to change and cleanse us from all unrighteousness? -to sincerely and truly want to be all that Jesus wants us to be. -to take in the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. To be like Jesus.

Interesting to note that the Feast of Unleavened Bread comes AFTER Passover. 

The usual pattern seems to be to spend time fasting and preparing BEFORE a special appointed time. Wouldn't it make more sense to have the Feast of Unleavened Bread first, so we can be all nice and clean for Passover? Yet, these physical assignments teach us spiritual concepts. And, this is a lesson that seems so very hard for us humans to grasp. Either we believe nothing is free and we must work hard to be deserving of Jesus' sacrifice for us. Or, we believe everything is free and we don't need to change, or try to do anything differently, Jesus' blood covers everything so we can continue living however we want because He paid the price. 

As I physically prepare the Passover meal and then, at some point during Passover, throw out all of our leaven and eat unleavened bread, I spiritually understand the order of salvation. As we eat the bread and drink the juice, in remembrance of Him (I Corinthians 11: 24-26) we can see that His love for us delivers us while we are still sinners. He feeds, serves, and washes others' feet, knowing that he will soon suffer. But, as we watch this unfold and try to fathom this kind of sacrificial love, we are reminded that He is our example! We are to follow in His footsteps. We are to wash each other's feet. We are to feed and serve. We are to love.

As we finish the Passover meal, and completely clean up any leftovers, we stand, as the Children of Israel did, ready for our new life in Christ. Our shoes on our feet and our staff in our hands. And, as the cries of our captors ring in our ears, we hear the cry of our savior, "Come follow me!" The door swings open and we begin our journey to the promised land!

                                   

For a whole week, we only eat unleavened bread. The bread, of course, represents Christ, the living Word of God! Taking up our cross, or rejecting the leaven, comes after we have made a commitment to follow Christ. If you think about it, this makes sense. Without the power of the Holy Spirit changing us into a new creature, (which happens at conversion) it would be impossible to follow Him.  

That's the unleavened bread part of the feast, but, wait, why is it called a Feast? Shouldn't it be a FAST? A fast is doing without something. And, we are not eating leaven for a whole week!

Yep, it is called a FEAST, not a FAST. 

While Exodus 12:19 clearly says that no one should eat leaven during the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the focus is on what we SHOULD do, not what we shouldn't do. We are commanded to eat unleavened bread. These days with so much gluten intolerance, many of us don't eat much bread, so it might not be so much of a sacrifice to give up yeast bread for a week. But, we are commanded to eat unleavened bread. (Exodus 12:18)

My mind wanders a lot, and, if I haven't lost you yet, let me show you where I went next. The Word of God- the Bible. What if, during the Feast of Unleavened Bread, I only read the Bible?

You see, even though we usually think of leaven as representing sin (and it does). Jesus told his disciples to beware of the "leaven" of the Pharisees. When they asked him for clarification, they realized he was referring to the "doctrine" of the Pharisees.

So, can leaven also represent teachings, or beliefs?

It is so easy to start listening to many different voices. There are so many wonderful, Christian, Bible-based books available. Devotion books and Bible studies. Dynamic preachers with lists of good things we can do to be closer to God.

But, maybe it would be helpful, for just one week, to not listen to all those other voices. -to get back to the pure, unleavened Word of God. -to only listen to Jesus' teachings. When we start listening to those other voices again, we just might notice some things that are not matching up. 

Well, this ended up being a lot longer than I intended and I really wanted to clean out that back room today. Oh, yes, with all that talk about how cleaning our house isn't required, and doesn't save us, I do intend to do some deep cleaning. I mean, it is spring! Who knows maybe I will uncover something that I forgot I had and really need to get rid of. Physically, or spiritually? Either really. It's a good time to clean house! :)