Meanwhile, friends, wait patiently for the Master’s Arrival. You see farmers do this all the time, waiting for their valuable crops to mature, patiently letting the rain do its slow but sure work. Be patient like that. Stay steady and strong. The Master could arrive at any time. James 5:7-8
I have always felt close to God when I am in the garden or working with plants. So much more, I believe, are farmers, who are working close to the soil with living organisms. They depend on the proper amounts of rain and sunshine to have a successful crop.
We are reminded of our dependence upon God when we are growing plants. Having that close contact with soil, nurturing plants, trying to set just the right environment for growth- these are creative acts. Yet we are dependent on the vagaries of Nature in trying to grow those life-giving plants.
Farmers understand hard work, dependence, patience, sacrifice, the joy of the harvest, and the pain of failed crops. Jesus used a lot of agricultural parables in his teaching, because the people he spoke to lived close to the earth for their very existence.
Most of us these days are not involved with farming for our livelihood. Thank God for those farmers who provide us with abundant food (though, unfortunately, not all share in the abundance), but many of us miss some of those important lessons of dependence upon God for our “daily bread”.
We are both humbled and comforted when we see day-by-day that we are dependent on God for our very existence. As this harvest season begins (in my hemisphere of the earth), let’s remember to be thankful- to the farmers who live in that rhythm of dependence on Nature, and God, who is the creator of that Nature.
Prayer: Lord, thank you for the cycles of nature, which all point to your master plans, Amen
Reflections of a Counselor 