The Law of the Harvest

As a young mother at home with three preschool children time could be a little intimidating.  I was so wrapped up in my own world that I jokingly tell people I have no idea what happened in the world-at-large between 1980 and 1985.  Actually, I remember a couple of things -- I remember when Mount St. Helen's erupted, and I remember Anwar Sadat's assassination and funeral.

Many times I listened to different pastors on the radio to keep a little sanity going--adult conversation and all that stuff you know.  My favorites were Dr. Charles (Chuck) Swindoll and Dr. Charles Stanley.  Both of these men have greatly influenced my spiritual life, and their wisdom played a large role in raising my children.  I forget that until an event reminds me of some nugget of truth they shared many years ago.


Dr. Stanley talked often about the law of the harvest.  My grandparents farmed, one of my uncle's farmed, another had orchards, and Mike's aunt and uncle had a greenhouse and orchards as well.  This was information I needed to know, so I paid close attention.  It goes like this: 


1)  You reap what you sow


2)  You reap later than you sow


3)  You reap more than you sow


Mull that over in your brain for awhile.  I've been 'mulling' that over for at least a couple of decades now.  The ramifications are staggering.  


The thing is, it doesn't matter 'what' you sow, the law stays the same.  So, if I sow kindness, graciousness, humor, etc, I'll reap what I sow.  I'll reap later than I sow.  I'll reap more than I sow.  The same thing goes for grumbling, complaining, laziness, etc.


This law of the harvest comes into play in every aspect of our lives.  Sobering isn't it?  Paul says in Philippians, "Finally brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable--if anything is excellent or praiseworthy--think about such things."

May we all strive to sow things that would glorify God.

Baseball & Waiting

Spring is a time of great anticipation around our house.  The countdown begins for Spring Training, which ultimately leads to a countdown of the official start to Major League Baseball.  The schedule is looked over numerous times with a few specific games highlighted and others listed as possibilities for the whole family to attend.  This year we even bought a mini-flex plan for the Oklahoma City Redhawks AAA team, which to our delight is part of the Texas Rangers franchise.  Nothing like getting to see your favorite players doing rehab work!

Our household is a little divided when it comes to baseball.  We all root for the Rangers, well except for Jason,  who has always had a thing for the Astros.  Jeanna has decided to follow in her Grandma's footsteps and roots for the Yankees -- the evil empire if you will.  Nathan then decided he would follow the Red Sox, just to make things interesting.  Mike roots for anyone playing the Yankees, and I mostly just keep my mouth shut.  I do fuss at the Rangers a lot.  They seem to make a habit of trading my favorite players.  It's very annoying.

This year our first game was to watch the Redhawks on the first night of the season.  It was a week night and since it was the season opener fireworks were scheduled immediately following the game.  The Redhawks were down by a few points, but in the bottom of the 8th they tied the game.  After 12 innings of play (if I remember correctly) they finally won the game.  Unfortunately, due to the lateness of the hour there may have been five people left at the stadium to actually watch the fireworks -- and we were not part of the five.

That seemed to set a precedent for the rest of the season.  It seemed that every game we attended went into extra innings.  Our team could be ahead by 7 runs, but the other team more often than not would tie it up in the 7th or 8th inning and there we were.  At one of the games there was a one hour rain delay.  Seriously.  The game ended at 12:15 a.m. or some such.  And you must understand that my husband and my children are FANS.  You NEVER leave early. 

Now don't misunderstand.  I love the game.  It's just that in recent years I've developed the attention span of a gnat and sitting still and waiting is pretty much a torturous ordeal.  You have no idea...

Psalm 46:10 says "Be still and know that I am God."  It's easy not to think of God and His precepts when we are busy.  It's not that we don't want to ignore Him, it's just that in the busyness of life it's easy to push anything serious to the back burner of thought.  When we have to be still and wait, the brain and the heart seem to get together and require us to think, and to question, and to confess, and to listen, and maybe the most difficult - to bow the knee.

The Ranger's byline all year has been "It's Time!"  At our house, we love it!  And we agree.  But maybe, just maybe 'It's Time' to be still and KNOW that He is God.  How is your attention span when it comes to what God is asking you to know?