Harvest Time (9/22/2023)

My husband and I went for a long drive, and because of the time of the year, he was very serious about seeing the farmers harvest their crops. His “glee” increased exponentially with every field we passed adorned with trucks and combines. He can’t help it. He was raised on a farm. Harvest time is sacred to him. Our ride got me thinking about my own life. What has my life produced this past year?

We are called by our LORD to follow in his footsteps, and through our faith, our hope and our love to produce fruit. What “fruit” do I have to show for the gift of my life this past year? What “fruit” do any of us have to show for the gift of life in our LORD?

This weekend, I plan to spend more time reflecting on this question. I am reminded of Jesus’ two parables: the parable of the sower and seeds (Mt. 13:3-9) and the parable of the Judgment of the Nations (Mt 25:31-46). The first challenges me to look at how receptive I am to the LORD’s love and grace and will. It reminds me that my “fruitfulness” flows not from me alone but from how I open myself to and receive the gifts of the LORD and to what length I will go to live fully my love of the LORD. The second parable reminds me that my fruitfulness flows largely from how I respond to others as I encounter them in my life. I am reminded of what of the Sisters at St. Joseph Academy told me nearly six decades ago: “You are sent on mission, but remember that mission is wherever the LORD sends you and it is rarely far away.”

Indeed, my mission these 74 years has been very “local.” Every day, as I put on my shoes and set out on adventure, I have the potential of producing fruit through my sharing of faith, my exercise of hope, my love lived out loud. Amy Grant’s lyrics say it well:

When the weight of all my dreams Is resting heavy on my head And the thoughtful words of help and hope Have all been nicely said But I'm still hurting, wondering if I'll ever be the one I think I am--I think I am Then you gently re-remind me That You've made me from the first And the more I try to be the best The more I get the worst And I realize the good in me is only there because of who You are, who You are And all I ever have to be is what You've made me Any more or less would be a step out of Your plan As you daily recreate me help me always keep in mind That I only have to do what I can find And all I ever have to be All I have to be All I ever have to be is what You've made me.

Today, may we all take time to pray that we will be all the LORD has made us.

Until tomorrow, let us all love well.