Ever since my daughter asked me to harvest dandelion greens from our backyard for her bunny I’ve been checking Google to see about all the different things I can gather for bunny.
Can bunny eat raspberry leaves?
“Yes” Google tells me.
WhooHoo! We’ve got lots of fresh tender raspberry leaves. Bunny will have so much goodness to snack on.
“But,” Google warns me, “only in moderation as a treat.”
Got it. Will keep that in mind.
What about strawberry leaves? Can bunny eat strawberry leaves?
“Yes” Googe responds.
WhooHoo! We’ve got lots of fresh, tender new strawberry leaves. Yay for bunny! Such goodness bunny is going to get to enjoy this coming summer.
Can bunnies eat blackberry leaves?
“Yes” Google tells me. WhooHoo! We’ve got lots of blackberries!
What about parsley? Can bunnies eat parsley?
“Yes” Google replies. WhooHoo! We’ve got parsley.
My little Basil sprouts are just beginning to peek through the dirt. Exciting! What about basil? Can bunnies eat basil?
“Yes” Google affirms. “But only as a treat in moderation.”
I’ll keep that in mind. Yay for bunny!
What about Butterhead lettuce?
“Yes, but only in moderation as part of a balanced diet.”
Awesome! Bunny is going to get to enjoy all the goodness of life!
What about Chrysanthemums?
“No!”
Oh I’m so glad I asked!
“Chrysanthemums are toxic to bunnies,” Google warns. There will be no chrysanthemum leaves for bunny!
Oh look, there’s some stray dandelions growing in the planter box on the back deck. That will be so much easier to gather dandelion greens for bunny without having to go all the way into the backyard to gather dandelion greens. I can be lazy and just step out on the back deck.
Ohhhh … but wait a minute … that’s the planter where I grew poppies last summer. Those might be poppy leaves from where the poppies re-seeded themselves.
Can bunnies eat poppy leaves?
“No! All parts of the poppy plant are toxic for bunnies!”
Oh, I’m so glad I asked!
When it comes to life itself, we each are like bunny … and God is our provider. God has good gifts which he provides for us. God has all the goodness of life he wants to bless us with.
Just like I have strawberry leaves to bless bunny with (but only in moderation) … so also, God has good gifts he wants to bless us with.
Just like I have raspberry leaves and blackberry leaves as treats for bunny … so too, God has good treats he wants to bless us with.
But we each can be rather spoiled and entitled. We can look at the “strawberry leaves” God gives us in moderation … and we can be ungrateful. We want more! That blessing was really nice. I want more God. Why did you only give me a little bit of that?
We can look at the “raspberry leaves” (so to speak) and be so unhappy that God only gave us a “taste.” That’s not fair God. I want more of that blessing. I don’t want the normal everyday “hay” and “food pellets” … I want the “raspberry leaves.”
But God is our provider. God knows that if we have a steady “diet” of “raspberry leaves” it will not be good for us. Our life won’t be balanced. Too much of that blessing won’t meet our soul’s “dietary needs.” In fact, if we have a steady “diet” of that particular blessing our soul might get “sick” (so to speak). Too many raspberry leaves can give bunnies stomach problems.
Then again, in our life we can look at a “leafy-goodness” and wonder why God won’t give us that at all. Just look at those “dandelion greens” … they look so tasty. God why can’t I have that?? Are you withholding good things from me because you don’t like me??
We begin to question if God loves us. We begin to question if God is good. How can God be good if he won’t give us that blessing which we so badly want?
But that “leafy-goodness” is toxic! If we ignore God, and if we indulge in that “leafy-goodness” anyway, it will be toxic for us! That “leafy-goodness” will not lead to spiritual health and flourishing in our life. But rather it will make us sick and might even lead to our destruction.
Whenever there is a “blessing” which we see and we wonder why God won’t give us that “blessing” … it’s probably because it is toxic. God is protecting us. We have to trust God. We have to trust that God is good. We have to trust that God loves us.
And we have to trust that what God provides for us is exactly what we need in our lives.
