Rhubarb by Sharon Heagy

 

            Rhubarb. Rhubarb, rhubarb, rhubarb. If you get close to actors having an indistinct background conversation, this may be the word they are repeating to each other to mimic a conversation. This practice is attributed to the English actor Charles Keon who established it around 1852 at London’s Princess Theatre. The word was chosen because it does not have harsh-sounding consonants or clear vowels.

            Rhubarb has other uses as a word. It has been known to mean nonsense, poppycock, codswallop, gobbledygook. (There are some great words for nonsense, but I digress.)

            It can also mean a heated dispute which may include a scuffle. Like a donnybrook, a brouhaha, a dust-up, an argle-bargle. (More digression - deviation, detour, departure, excursus. You get the idea. My apologies. It’s just one of those days where I need a touch of whimsy, fancy…– ok, I’ll stop.)

            Rhubarb is also a vegetable. As confusing as this is, that statement is true. It is related to the buckwheat and sorrel family. In 1947 a New York court classified it as a fruit in order to lower the tariffs and reduce the price of bringing it into the country, but it is indeed a vegetable.

            The leaves are inedible and contain toxic amounts of oxalic acid. The stalks are full of antioxidants, fibre, calcium and vitamin C. To harvest rhubarb you don’t cut the stalks but rather you pull the stalks out one at a time. This encourages new growth.

            What on earth does rhubarb have to do with writing? Let us consider this wonderful plant. The leaves are huge! Like elephant ears! Well maybe like the ears on a large stuffed toy elephant. But still. They cover the stalks and protect the plant. Just as God covers us as writers of faith. 

            The stalks grow under that precious covering, from the ground up. Out of one plant many stalks emerge, just as many ideas for writing projects are given to us by the Lord as we are sheltered and nurtured under His covering. When rhubarb stalks are ready, they can be plucked out and used. Many ideas for writing projects are grown through Jesus and, when they are ready, full blown, they can also be plucked out and used for His glory. And as they are pulled out, there remains room for more ideas to take root. 

            Rhubarb tends to be bitter. It generally needs a bit of sugar, just as our prose needs a bit of sweetness and anointing from the Holy Spirit to produce something wonderful for writer and reader alike. 

            And when ideas will not form, we may need a time of rest. Just like the rhubarb plant, which needs a season of rest to grow and thrive again. Then one day when the sun brings warmth to the soil and the clouds yield rain, new sprouts will pop up and they will be covered by giant leaves and God will nurture them into full grown stalks once more. And, in His grace and mercy, He will do the same in us as writers. 

            I need to go now. There is a person in this household who will perhaps read these words and will most definitely inquire if this wouldn’t be a fitting time for a fresh rhubarb crisp. The rhubarb in the garden calls and I must go and pluck out some mature stalks. God bless.