Back when I lived in the rural Midwest, late September and October were harvest times for farming communities. For many frantic weeks, farmers would be out in the fields from morning to night, trying to beat the first snowfall, harvesting the crops planted earlier that spring. In southwest Minnesota, the harvest normally consisted of two crops: corn and soybeans. It was obvious what had been planted in each field when harvest came. A farmer would not gather corn from his soybean field or soybeans from his corn field. Each field yielded exactly what was sown.
There are life lessons from ‘planting fields.’ Life is all about choices and we are defined by those choices. Sometimes those choices involve the good versus the bad. There is certainly some truth to that train of thought. You may have heard the phrase, ‘you reap what you sow,’ well, this idea comes from one of the Apostle Paul’s letters in the New Testament. There is a correlation in life to what we sow and harvest. If we are often angry about life and our circumstances, we may start to notice an increase in angry people around us. If we treat people with kindness and dignity, we may notice the people around us are generally supportive and kind.
At other times, our choices may be the challenge of choosing the good over the best. We usually have a sense when we choose between good and bad, but sometimes, good things can affect choices that are better for us.
Let me illustrate from my own profession. As a minister friend of mine was preparing to go out on his weekly visits, his young son asked when he was going to visit them in their own home. Good things can take us away from those most important to us. Find balance to include the best.
Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church said, “Nothing shapes your life more than the commitments you choose to make.” So, what does your harvest look like? If it’s not what you’d like, maybe it’s time to reflect on what’s being sown. At the end of the day it’s all about choices, with some being good, some bad and some best. The good news is, tomorrow is another day with new opportunities for a new harvest.
Back when I lived in the rural Midwest, late September and October were harvest times for farming communities. For many frantic weeks, farmers would be out in the fields from morning to night, trying to beat the first snowfall, harvesting the crops planted earlier that spring. In southwest Minnesota, the harvest normally consisted of two crops: corn and soybeans. It was obvious what had been planted in each field when harvest came. A farmer would not gather corn from his soybean field or soybeans from his corn field. Each field yielded exactly what was sown.
There are life lessons from ‘planting fields.’ Life is all about choices and we are defined by those choices. Sometimes those choices involve the good versus the bad. There is certainly some truth to that train of thought. You may have heard the phrase, ‘you reap what you sow,’ well, this idea comes from one of the Apostle Paul’s letters in the New Testament. There is a correlation in life to what we sow and harvest. If we are often angry about life and our circumstances, we may start to notice an increase in angry people around us. If we treat people with kindness and dignity, we may notice the people around us are generally supportive and kind.
At other times, our choices may be the challenge of choosing the good over the best. We usually have a sense when we choose between good and bad, but sometimes, good things can affect choices that are better for us.
Let me illustrate from my own profession. As a minister friend of mine was preparing to go out on his weekly visits, his young son asked when he was going to visit them in their own home. Good things can take us away from those most important to us. Find balance to include the best.
Rick Warren, pastor of Saddleback Church said, “Nothing shapes your life more than the commitments you choose to make.” So, what does your harvest look like? If it’s not what you’d like, maybe it’s time to reflect on what’s being sown. At the end of the day it’s all about choices, with some being good, some bad and some best. The good news is, tomorrow is another day with new opportunities for a new harvest.