Bearing a Harvest

 

Thanksgiving has been a bittersweet season for myself and some of my loved ones.

It has been one of harvest, and one of loss.

I have been thinking on the blending of these, and wondering how many times we have all been subject to joy and sorrow at the same time.

I believe that we are to always realize that in the harvest there are at times, sacrifice. If we have a bountiful harvest, then many seeds were planted and even though we see their fruit, we remember those seeds planted out of season or too quickly. We remember the times we resented planting because preparing the ground was too difficult. We didn’t want to water. To fertilize. To tend.

And we resented when our harvest was lacking.

But at times our harvest is plentiful. More than enough. Sometimes our harvest is plentiful because others helped us plant. Water. Tend.

Do we hoard? Or do we release a portion of our harvest so that others may experience blessing?

We may think…

“Why should my labor benefit those who labored less?”

Look. I have thought that way before. I struggle with it now. I have been known to say, “If I can, so can…”

I’ll admit that.

But more than likely, we have not reaped what we alone have sown.

But do you realize that sometimes our season is bountiful because God wants us to have plenty to give others while still sustaining our households?

Folks used to call it Christian charity.

And something else to think about.

Maybe in your season of harvest, if it is bountiful it is meant to be stored. Not hoarded, but stored for a leaner season. So many of us reap a bounty and consume it right away. Perhaps it is meant to sustain for a time of famine.

My point is that if you are experiencing a bountiful harvest in this season, take a deep breath and pray about what is to be done with the overflow. Is it to be gifted? Is it to be stored? Maybe a little of both.

Some of my family and friends have lost precious ones and are without them for the first time this season. Harvest and sacrifice. Joy and sorrow. What can be learned from these priceless tears?

These tears are stored in heaven to help with the planting of the next season’s crops. They are full of wisdom, mercy, tolerance, and understanding. They will help soothe another’s sorrow and give voice to words of comfort. These tears will break ground that was once ungiving and barren.

My mother passed several years ago, quite near Thanksgiving. I see things differently now as the years have passed. I am more patient than I was when she was alive. Humbler. My voice is less critical than in years past. My words are more loving. The tears I shed broke ground that was barren before. My harvests are more fruitful.

Be blessed this season of wonder. Be comforted. We are all beneficiaries of the Gardener. His bounty is always full.

 

Blessings!

Sharon