Had Your Stinging Nettles Today?

The World Nettle Eating Championship happens in Dorset, England once a year. Competitors are provided two-foot long stalks of the stinging nettle plant and they pluck and eat the leaves. The winner is the one with the greatest accumulated length of nettles-not to mention a black tongue and teeth.

A wild plant called stinging nettle can sting you with its hairy leaves and stems. The hairy leaf is like a hypodermic needle when touched and can inject chemicals causing a sting which can cause itching and pain. 

Most people that encounter the stinging nettle consider it a nuisance. But God has made everything for a reason. The nettle plants can be a great source of vitamins. It can help with allergies and is an anti-inflammatory. When cooked and soaked in water the stingers come off and the leaves can be eaten. Herbal teas and pesto sauces are just a few of the common uses of the plant.

Nettles along with other types of plants with thorns and thistles are mentioned in the Bible:

· Genesis 3:18 in says, “It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field.”

· Genesis 9:3 says, “Everything that lives and moves about will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything.”

· Isaiah 34:13 says, “Thorns will overrun her citadels, nettles and brambles her strongholds. She will become a haunt for jackals, a home for owls.”The more I learn about all that God has created, I believe there are many resources we aren’t taking advantage of for our well-being.  

You might not end up a nettle-eating champion, but you could end up enjoying–and benefiting from-one of God’s wild plants growing in your own backyard.

Nuggets of Gratitude: List three wild plants you are thankful for.