We decided to spend a day canning green beans. And yes, it seems to take a whole day. My son was excited to help pick and he promptly woke me at 6 a.m. I'm a little slow in the morning but being out in the garden early, is a peaceful place to be. Everything seems so still and quiet and if you listen closely, you can hear the morning awake with the bird's songs.
H got a little distracted and made some "zuchini donuts" with dirt.
It took a little more than an hour to pick the long row of green beans, and the time there gave me a quiet moment with my son to reflect on all the things we have to be thankful for. The sunrise, the fertile ground, the growing season, the rain, the miracle of God's creation from the seed, to a plant, to food that will sustain us, the birds singing, the woodpecker pecking, the rooster crowing, the health to harvest this food, the time with my son....the gratitude seemed to pour out of my heart to the Lord this morning.
I need to take more time to be still, be quiet, and daily be thankful for the little things. There is an amazing joy in recognizing God's abundant blessings.
We are so thankful for their great-grandmother who guided and helped us with the preparation and canning process. We love to hear her stories of what life was like when she was young and learn from her years of wisdom and know-how.
After you pick, wash, wash, snap, wash, wash, then you heat the beans and prepare the quart jars with a tsp. of sea salt. Then, we filled the jars and heated in the pressure cooker for 30mins.
We were satisfied to see the results of a careful process that will provide us food for the winter. The steps, the time, and learning to work with our hands...we are thankful for all the little things...because they ultimately teach us about the big things!
