Complimentary Story
May 2025I spent many days, this spring, getting up at 4 a.m., walking the 100 yards from our house to the sugar house to boil down maple sap into maple syrup.
Most mornings, I was mesmerized by the vast array of stars, constellations and galaxies on display. Millions or billions of stars created by God and He knows them all by name. I would feel mighty small by the time I reached my destination.
In the sugar house, the routine was mostly the same every morning, as I turned on the lights, emptied the ash pan from the previous day’s burn into a large metal garbage can to be spread later on our asparagus garden. Next would be the preparation and ignition of a starter fire under the 32 in. x 8 ft. evaporator pan. As steam begins to rise, I open the cupola doors, 20 ft. up, for the steam to escape, adjusting for wind direction throughout the day. Next, I fill the firebox full of dry split hardwood, write down all the steps including time of start, amount of sap collected and lot number for today’s activity of new sap and the finished syrup that will be bottled later today. Every step, time, temperatures and contact with sap or syrup needs to be logged in my certified organic field log, to which I will be held accountable either by a Midwest Organic Certification inspector, a USDA inspector, or most likely both.
Nothing inorganic can come in contact with the sap or syrup. Now, I grab the yeti cup filled with coffee and sit down. I’ll be up again in 15 minutes to check the sap level in the evaporator pan, adjust the sap flow and refill the firebox with wood. These steps, along with some others, like skimming foam, will be repeated for the next 10 to 12 hours. I’m already anticipating the awesome breakfast that my wife, Terry, will be bringing soon and her help with skimming, hauling in more wood and bottling the finished product of certified organic, pure maple syrup. This year, the final tabulation was 13 cases of 12 quarts, 10 cases of 12 pints and 20 cases of 12 ¾ pints.
The making of maple syrup is a process. The maple sap is only 2% to 3% sugar content and needs to be boiled until the product will measure 32 on a Baume hydrometer at 211 degrees. This year, it took 48 gallons of sap to make 1 gallon of syrup. It is a process that takes time and attention.
Our development as a follower of Jesus is very similar. There is no snap of the fingers that gets us to the finished product of Christ likeness. It takes daily effort to peel off the layers of our character that are not Christlike and replace them through Scripture memory and the practice, practice, practice of converting our behavior to be like that of Jesus.
This year something different from other years happened nearly every morning, that reminded me that I am not the smallest creature in God’s creation. As long as it was dark outside and I was sitting down, a small deer mouse would come near to me. Every day as his trust grew, he would get closer and put on quite a display of climbing ability and acrobatics, all for a few treats of pistachio nuts or trail mix chips. Terry and I named him “Mr. Jingles” after the famous, trained, acting mouse in the movie, “The Green Mile.”
I wondered, what do the deer mouse and I have in common and what can I learn from him? We were both created by God. God cares for the wild critters and provides all they need to live. According to Matthew 6: 25-34, I am more valuable than the wild animals, so God will also provide everything I need in food, drink and clothing. I should not worry. Mr. Jingles, by nature trusts in the provision of God by searching the forest floor for seeds and nuts to eat and store for winter and he learned to trust me for some food treats. Like the wild critters, I need to learn to trust God. Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and God will provide all I truly need. I need to draw near to God and put on a display of my abilities to serve and please Him on a daily basis. Psalm 37 tells me to trust in the Lord and do good, to delight myself in the Lord and He will give me the desires of my heart. Even though I am very small in the vastness of creation, when I trust God, He responds by treating me like I am a very big deal. He does that with all who place their trust in Him.
Another thing I see in common with Mr. Jingles and all other created things is that all of creation fell away from God and the way He designed things to originally be. When Adam and Eve sinned, all mankind and all creation fell away from the prefect creation God had made and nothing or no one will experience the perfect creation until Jesus returns. It is chaos. People experience sickness, disease, pain, all forms of trouble and hardship as the result of sin entering the world. The deer mouse and all created critters face sickness, and many hardships like wind, rain, freezing temperatures, and becoming food for other animals. For the deer mouse, it’s fox, hawks, feral cats or mouse traps. Romans 8:20 states that all creation was subjected to frustration and clings to the hope of being liberated from its bondage to enjoy the glorious freedom of the children of God when Jesus returns and makes all things new. Paul states that the whole creation is groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time as we wait for our adoption as sons and the redemption of our bodies. When that time happens, all of God’s creation will be restored to the original garden paradise.
I do not believe anything in all creation can be inhabited by the Spirit of God except human beings. This is where the deer mouse and I are different. I do not know that Mr. Jingles needs a Savior. I don’t believe any animal, tree, lake, mountain or any other aspect of creation needs a Savior. But I do know that I, and all mankind, have sinned against God and are in desperate need of a Savior to experience that glorious freedom that is to come.
God knew this from the beginning and provided a way for mankind by sending His own Son to pay sin’s penalty for us. If God is so for us, who or what could ever be against us? Human beings are so loved by God that nothing can separate us from His love. Trouble, hardship, famine, dangers or death cannot separate us from God’s love. Nothing in all creation can separate us from the love of God that is in Jesus Christ. The only thing that could possibly interfere is our rejection of His love and refusal to accept it.
We need to be like Mr. Jingles. Come in out of the darkness into the light where Jesus is, accept His gift of love and forgiveness. When we accept His gift and invite Him to our life, His Spirit indwells us. Then we can use our abilities to serve and please Him as our Lord and Savior.
It’s a good idea to have an accountability partner, kind of like my inspectors, that help you stay on track. Like converting maple sap to maple syrup, this is a process that takes time and attention. If we accept His gift of love to us, then the flood gates of His love, protection and promises are opened wide for His followers to experience now, as we wait for our adoption as sons and step into that glorious freedom to an eternity, set free from the bondage and tyranny of sin, forever. Come Lord Jesus!
Lynn Fredrick is the author of “Stand Firm,” a recovery program to help transform your life by using the divine power of God’s Word.
LynnFredrick.com
