Harvest

Rivers do not drink their own water; trees do not eat their own fruit; the sun does not shine on itself and flowers do not spread their fragrance for themselves. Living for others is a rule of nature. We are all born to help each other. No matter how difficult it is, life is good when you are happy; but much better when others are happy because of you.

Pope Francis

The other day, I was researching some information about harvesting, simply because it’s that time of year where we live, and I started thinking about what we plant is what we harvest. Planting seeds in the garden or field in the early spring, tending it all summer and harvesting it in the fall was the first and most obvious thought I had.

But, as I dug a little deeper, I got to thinking a little more philosophically about us as persons and I remembered some clever quotes I’ve heard at least a zillion times; maybe they’re familiar to you too:

You made your bed, now lie in it.

You are what you eat.

You dug your own grave.

You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink.

People who live in a glass house shouldn’t throw stones.

You’re preaching to the choir.

Your actions speak louder than words.

If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all.

Get a taste of your own medicine.

When you throw dirt, you lose ground.

Make it do or do without.

There are so many quotes about the harvest of our seeds. All reflective on us … our behavior, our decisions, our manner of speaking … all our total responsibility really. And I began to wonder about me. Have I been kind lately? Loving? Compassionate? Wise? Patient? Have I ‘put myself in others shoes’ or ‘caught more flies with honey than vinegar’? Sometimes, the truthful answers weren’t at all what I wanted to admit. ‘Practice what you preach.’

Words are very much like seeds. They do more than blow around. They land in our hearts and not the ground. So, it would be wise to be careful what we plant and careful what we say … we just might have to eat what we planted one day. Everything we do, everything we say, every choice we make, sooner or later comes back around. We are free to choose, but we aren’t free from the consequence of our choices. ‘Do to others as you would have them do to you.’

Doe Zantamata, author of Happiness In Your Life says: ‘Sometimes you only reap a lesson, not a reward. But you take that with you and keep it for the rest of your life. Sow the best you can with love, honesty, trust and effort. It won’t always pan out but when it does, it will make everything, even the struggles, worthwhile.’

And, from Zig Ziglar, renowned author and motivational speaker: ‘Life is an echo. What you send out, comes back. What you sow, you reap. What you give, you get. What you see in others, exists in you.’ In other words, ‘what goes around, comes around’.

We always harvest what we plant. Frederick William Robertson, a British clergy from the 1840’s, said it best: ‘You reap what you sow – not something else, but that. An act of love makes the soul more loving. A deed of humbleness deepens humbleness. The thing reaped is the very thing sown, multiplied a hundredfold. If you have sown a seed of life, you reap life everlasting.’

It occurs to me that when we stop chasing the wrong things like money, fame, prideful opportunities, etc. and focus on what really matters … simply put, God’s love and His blessings to us … if we welcome and take hold of the opportunity to let Him shine through us, the right things have a chance to catch up. And then, and only then, our harvest will be joyous and bountiful!

Seeds of God’s love were planted this past month by the following: 1corinthians3-9wearegodsfellowworkersyouaregodsfieldandbuildingyellow