Sweet Season

This is the last of my strawberries for the season.  It's not even July, yet their time to produce fruit has passed.  I have enjoyed them thoroughly!  It occurs to me that much of life is like the short growing season of strawberries.  The older I get, the shorter seasons seem to be.  I am trying to remember to enjoy each season as it is happening and not spend time in the past or the future.  Just to be present to what is in season now and to enjoy it to the fullest.  And even if the present is not producing an abundance of  ripe fruit, I am consciously seeking all the bits of sweetness that are available now, today.  What does it benefit me to worry about tomorrow?  Doesn't  Jesus tell us not to worry about tomorrow (Matthew 6:25-34)?  So for today, I will seek the joy and the sweet peace that a present mind feels.  And when I look back, I will see a  mind that rested each day on the joys of that particular season. 

And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. Galatians 6:9

Plant It and It Will Grow

If anyone has ever planted zucchini in New Jersey they know that if you plant it, it will grow.  By mid-summer most folks are actually tired of zucchini – by then they have sautéed it, grilled it, fried it, baked it, stuffed it and some go as far as dumping boxes of it in unlocked cars!  A few plants yield an overwhelming harvest.  All one must do is sow it.  It seems God has taken care of the rest.  God supplied those little zucchini seeds with everything they need to produce a great harvest.  But what if no one took the time to plant the seeds?  What if we are all too busy to scratch the earth and sow the seed?  What if we become so complacent we don’t take time to work the field?  What then? 

You may have guessed, I am no longer talking about zucchini.  I am talking about people and the condition of their hearts.  God has supplied each and every heart with what it needs to grow in Christ and produce a great harvest for the Kingdom of God.  Are you willing to sow seeds of hope and love in the hearts of the lonely and the lost?  According to scripture God will equip you and enrich you and you will reap a worthy harvest.

Galatians 6:9-10

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.

2 Corinthians 9:9-11

 As it is written:

“They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor;
    their righteousness endures forever.”

Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.

For those of you who have backyard gardens in New Jersey, you know how rewarding it is to reap a great harvest of produce.  We may complain about how much zucchini we have, but secretly, we are all very proud of the abundance of our crop.  How much better and how much greater the reward if your harvest is a heart for Christ?  Just imagine the joy of seeing a person bloom by planting the words of our Lord, the King of Kings, in a barren heart.  I doubt we would ever get tired of the crop we reap for God’s Kingdom.

Join me in planting seeds for Christ and the Kingdom of God.  Share your gifts in the Lord with those around you.  Encourage them with words of faith and hope.  Scratch the surface of their hearts.  Plant and sow seeds of love.  And finally, harvest joy!

Psalm 85:11-13           

Faithfulness springs forth from the earth,
    and righteousness looks down from heaven.
The Lord will indeed give what is good,
    and our land will yield its harvest.