Today’s Word: Harvest

I am no farmer and not much of a gardener. Sue and I grow annuals in flowerpots and once in a while grow some tomatoes, but that’s about it. Something in me would like to be, but I’m not sure I’m up to the commitment it takes to care for the potential harvest, however small. I grew up in urban St. Louis, but even there my father found the time and the space in our backyard to plant (mostly from seed) a healthy, organically grown crop of tomatoes, onions, lettuce, peppers and more. Today, I have friends who participate and work hard in community gardens, and I love the harvest at our local Farmer’s Market.

So I love the harvest (what’s better than a fresh tomato or strawberry?) and stand in awe and gratitude of all those farmers who bring us our daily fruits and vegetables. I am thankful for the often-underpaid farmworkers who plant and pick the produce that ends up in our supermarkets. And, as always, I worship the Creator who waters the fields and blesses the ground with nutrients. I adore the Lord who makes tomatoes taste heavenly and strawberries better than just about anything should be allowed to taste. We too easily take all this for granted. We just go down the produce aisle and there they all are, lined up and waiting for us, freshly misted. Today, let’s remember all those who bring us our food and the God who gives everything that is good: “The earth has yielded its harvest; God, our God, blesses us.” (Psalm 67:7)

Ask yourself in silence:  Can our eating (and our gathering together to eat) become an act of worship and prayer?