HOPE, Harvest Haze 10-14-13

There's a haze in the air around here these days. Our home is surrounded by miles & miles of fields. In our area of the world, the most common crops planted are soybeans ("beans") and field corn (for livestock - as opposed to sweet corn for US!!). This year, there seemed to be more fields planted with beans. From the moment the beans sprout to the final harvest, beans take on a myriad of colors...

- light green - when first growing

deep, dark green AND yellow & green mixed

 golden yellow AND orange-brown

 AND dusty brown - when ready for harvest

And, now that I think about it, I'm not certain that I haven't taken to calling that last color "dusty brown" due to the amount of dust created when beans are harvested. You can see for miles when they've begun harvesting a field of beans.

Our cars get covered with a fine dust - as do the windows of the house and the outside furniture. Even the flowering plants outside our home get a nice coat of fine dust. All seeming to wait until God sends a good, cleansing rain. If they harvested the beans when they weren't so totally dried out, the homes in our corner of the world (aka stuckinindiana) would be saved a lot of extra cleaning. However, in order to the get the best yield, the beans have to be dried out to harvest.

I've learned quite a few life-lessons in the past four years residing among the cornfields, cows, beans, pigs, wheat, chickens & MORE. Harvesting of beans is a lot like life. Sometimes the best yield comes only at a specific time & often when things seem much messier & inconvenient for our liking! I'm reminded to...

Trust the Father's guidance for harvesting.

Don't mind the dust & mess. 

Concentrate on the end product -- the yield! 

You know the saying, ‘One plants and another harvests.’ And it’s true. I sent you to harvest where you didn't plant; others had already done the work, and now you will get to gather the harvest. John 4:37-38

Then He said to them, “The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest." Luke 10:2

Linking this month with The Nesting Place

 for the 31-day Challenge

Linking with Ann Voskamp - A Holy Experience today...