Tabitha: Voices from the Soil
“ One, One, Cocoa fill Basket” –
This Jamaican expression came to me as I reflected on my friend comment on my picture of my one purple okra and 1 stalk Callaloo
Each morning I would excitedly go to my vegetable garden and search my two okra plants for mature okras, usually its one to two okras. I would add these to my pile in the freezer until I had enough to make a meal. So feeling proud of my achievement I had sent a picture to my relative but instead of her rejoicing with me, she damped my spirit by commenting “its only one”
So the memories of my mother words came back to me as she taught us patience by saying “one, one cocoa fill basket.” And that teaching has stuck with me as I journey through life; I learned to go slowly in gathering God’s blessings by heaping them one by one. So undeterred by that comment I continued gathering each morning until I had a pile of frozen okras.
What joy I had as I ate those okras with steamed fish; it was a slow gathering but in the end I was blessed for my patience by enjoying vegetable from my garden.
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