"When he (Jesus) saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest." (Matthew 9:36-38)The days are shorter; the skies seem bluer; and the nights are crisp and cool. The geese are practicing & congregating for the trek south. The blackbirds are noisily chirping and flying, in what always seems to me, to be a swarm. The mosquitoes are almost gone and the ticks are back. The monarchs lazily flitter from clover to clover but always in a southwest direction. The hummingbird buzzes by. Even the bees have changed their daily routine. There seems to be a bustle in the air... hurry, hurry, hurry.... not much time left... gotta get that last taste of nectar; that last bit of pollen. Busy, busy, busy. Please don't interrupt... gotta go. One doesn't need a calendar to tell us that autumn is here and the cold sleep of winter is fast approaching.
You can see that my "terribly sincere pumpkin patch" has indeed turned orange and is ready for harvest. The vines are withering and the orange fruits are readily apparent. But the pumpkins are not the only things ready to harvest. The fall raspberries are still in good fruiting; the blackberries are just coming ripe (I tried a new "everbearing" variety this year); the butternut squash is yellowing fast; the massive muskmelons are aromatic; the tomatoes seem to be nonstop; the pinto beans are dry (with the black beans, black-eyed peas and cranberry beans right behind); and the carrots are ready. I am struck today with what it means to have a huge harvest (thank You, Lord!) without having enough laborers to harvest it. There are only so many hours of daylight in a day. Only so much time to do everything..... Between parenting children, washing and pegging out three loads of laundry, dishes, meals, and feeding chickens, cats and dogs.... well, that doesn't leave much time to harvest. Beans needed to be picked and shelled, screened and placed in jars for their 24 hour freeze. And most pressing today, the carrots needed to come out of the ground. If left too long nasty, horrible, worm-like things attack the carrots from underground and destroy them. The carrots come out slimy and insect eaten. But if taken out promptly very few uglies attack the carrots. (I'll write more about my carrot adventure tomorrow or the next).
When there are no laborers to harvest what happens? Then those who are harvesting work extra hard, extra long, extra fervently...resulting in extra tired. But even worse (to my frugal and efficient mindset) the harvest rots. It stays in the ground and worms destroy it; it stays on the vine and over ripens; it stays in the garden and animals or birds attack.... but regardless of its end, the result is rot....waste....ruin....
Is that what Jesus meant? Will lives end up in ruin... in death... in waste... because there were no laborers? We are indeed like sheep without a shepherd.... without direction, protection, & purpose... when our lives (the fruit) is left on the vine to rot.
Jesus had compassion on the masses.... do I? Do I look at the news with apathy when damage or destruction impact a people or a nation? Or is my heart moved with compassion to pray or to act?
Perhaps the most sincere pumpkin patch is sincere simply because it was seeded, cultivated, loved and harvested. Without a harvest the pumpkin vine was only a weed....
Lord, teach me to have a heart of compassion and love... and please, send out laborers.
Today's Journey Joy: harvesting
