By Penelope A. Domogo, MD
Just like a lot of you out there, I have been intensively gardening (me in containers) since the start of lockdown. That’s almost 6 months ago. I am into my third cycle of growing pechay. My problem with pechay is that they are very attractive to worms. So what my son-in-law did was put mosquito net over the plants and that solved the problem! Even the astray cat can’t get inside to poop! But then I was ambitious and wanted more pechay so they can’t all be accommodated in that net and thus became prey to worms. Well, I noticed some other seedlings growing with the pechay seedlings. They were not touched, at all! As they grew more leaves I saw that these were papaya seedlings. I wondered why the worms didn’t touch them. My theory is that these tree seedlings are so designed by the Creator not to be attractive to worms because if they were, then their purpose in life- which is to provide papaya leaves and fruits later in their lives – would not be fulfilled. Imagine if they were consumed by the worms at that young seedling stage, what will be left to bear fruit? As for the pechay seedlings, these are designed to mature in about 6 weeks so with patient monitoring morning and evening for worms, we will still have a bountiful harvest of organic pechay. Isn’t nature so amazing!
The observation above affirmed my faith in our Creator’s amazing love for us. If He cared for plants, wouldn’t He also care for us, humans, as much? Just as He gave the papaya plant a built-in mechanism or system to ward off the worms, so He also built in us a mechanism to ward off germs like covid and the common colds. We call these phenomenon defense mechanism or immune system. Do you think our Creator gave that mechanism to the papaya plant only when He saw the butterflies fluttering around? No, He built it in the genes of the papaya. These genes are inherited from its parents. Meaning, that defense mechanism was present from the time the seed was produced and will stay there until the plant dies. It is the same with all of His creation. I love how our Creator makes it easier for us to understand His design. You see, I believe He is the God of the past, present and future. He knows everything in the future that is oftentimes beyond our belief and imagination. And He really does not play favorites- He does not love only the rich and tech-savvy but also the farmer and old-fashioned. That’s why I love Him so much!
So we have this built-in immune system since the time we were conceived- part of our wonderful inheritance from our parents, as designed by nature (when I say “nature”, I mean the design of the Creator). But we need to take care of this immune system. Just like the papaya & pechay seedlings which I need to water regularly, place in enough sunshine and air. And I have to remove worms and other things that might affect their health. But first, I had to plant them in good soil. (We compost all our plant wastes.) I have to take care of these plants and nurture them with what they need for them to reach maturity. Same goes true with our immune system. We are born with an amazing immune system but we need to take care of it.
How do we take care of our immune system? Do we look to the factory? No. As we discussed in a previous issue, we look to nature for the answers to life’s questions. Our Creator provided everything we need in nature. Sunshine, air, water to drink, plants and animals, water and land and space to move our bodies and grow food. Take a look at this. When a baby is born, there is mother’s milk to sustain him or her. No need for money. Geez, how did people live before industrialization? As the baby grows teeth, he is slowly introduced to foods that adults eat until he is able to eat table food. In indigenous communities where nature governs life, even newborn babies can tolerate cold baths and young children can romp in the rain and older people can be drenched with rain without catching a cold. Such is the power of the natural environment and natural provisions in nurturing our immune system.
What do you think will happen to the papaya and pechay seeds if I watered them with soft drinks or cow’s milk? Or if I planted them in bread? Although it would be interesting to really do an actual experiment, I don’t think we need to. Besides being expensive, we can already imagine what will happen. First, the soft drink and milk are sweet so after you pour them over the plants, ants will come over, adding to your worms. Fungus will set in- they like sweets, too. Nah, your plants will not survive. So we learn from the plants. We also learn from animals- try giving your dogs soft drinks and milk and all these processed foods. They will not live long. What happens to plants and animals, happen to people too. Now you know why laboratories experiment with guinea pigs, rats, dogs, etc, to test new medicines and vaccines. Hey, what is that Animal Welfare Act doing?
Our immune system is designed to function maximally if nourished with naturally-grown food, provided in season, with water, fresh air, enough daily physical activities, enough rest and a grateful heart and faith that it exists. We have had plenty of discussions on these in previous issues. Just like your gasoline-fed car will function only with gasoline, not diesel or kerosene. You have faith that your car will run on gasoline that’s why you buy gasoline, not diesel. Do you also have faith in your built-in immune system? ****
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“Look at the birds in the air: They do not sow or reap or gather into barns- and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than them?” Matthew 6:26
