Growing Diversity

This week we have enjoyed some lovely spring weather here in the south west of England.  At last I have been able to get out into the garden and get things growing again.  I have managed to sow quite a few different vegetables and planted some fresh flowers.  We are in no way self sufficient in providing and growing our own food.  Space and personal physical energy don't allow for this but it is good to be able to eat something that you've grown yourself.  It is so much healthier when you know that they haven't been doused in chemicals or somehow force fed to produce perfect-looking produce.  Because they are fresher of course they are tastier.  I plant the flowers, partly because I like to see nice flowers in a garden and partly to encourage the bees and butterflies necessary in the pollination of other plants that we eat.  I try to grow a variety as it looks more interesting and, as far as food is concerned, is better for us.  I often think of the Israelites during the Exodus from Egypt and really sympathize with them.  I mean, what must it be like to have to eat manna and quails every day.  They wandered in the desert for 40 years.  And we complain if we have the same thing twice in two weeks!  In the 21st century we know that a variety of food is not only pleasing to the palate but necessary for health reasons.  A good variety gives us a balanced and nutritious diet that leads to good health.  Too much of one thing and not enough of something else is not good for us.  It can create an imbalance within our bodies and leaves us lacking in some nutrient.

I do like to see pictures of a snowdrop or bluebell wood but when it comes to the garden of a house I have to admit that having only one type of flower does not appeal to me.  In fact most gardens seem to grow different types of flowers as well as different colours to put on a display.  A walk through a park is more enjoyable if there are displays of different flowers, bushes and trees and when we buy a bunch of flowers to put in a vase, more often than not we choose a bunch that has more than one colour or at least one colour plus greenery.  So in food and in plants we like and need diversity.



And so I ponder ... ... why, oh why can we not accept this in society?  We say that we accept people being different but there is a big difference between tolerance and acceptance.  We might tolerate those who express themselves differently as long as they stay over there out of my way.  Those who have a different culture, a different way of living, a different way of expressing their beliefs, a different way of loving are so often made to feel outsiders so that they huddle together in their own isolated communities and not accepted in general society.  We have so much to learn from God's creation.  The rose doesn't say that he is better and nicer looking than the daisy and so more important.  They are both as important and beautiful as the other in their own way and circumstances.  Someone once remarked, 'Our differences combine to create meaning and beauty.'   God created all things diverse, not to compete against each other but to complement each other and together to make a rich world beneficial to all.  Diversity is healthy and pleasurable.  That is how God designed it.  We need to learn to live together in harmony and diversity in order to really express God's intention for our world.