Seedtime and Harvest

Looking at this old photo got me to thinking... Something that folks on a farm think about often is the concept of seedtime and harvest.
You put seeds in the ground, you water them, you keep the weeds and pests away and when the time is right, you reap a bountiful harvest from your patience and hard work.

Our Great Grandparents on the left, our Grandparents on the right, the little girl in the chair is Aunt Virginia and the baby is our dad.  Harvesting wheat about 70 years ago - and yes, the concept of seedtime and harvest worked the same then as it does now - both in the field and in life.

The funny thing about seedtime and harvest is that it applies to every aspect of our lives - not just crops.

The Bible says that the principle of seedtime and harvest will never cease, the same way that the concepts of seasons and day and night will never cease.

"As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease." Genesis 8:22 (NIV)

Makes me stop and wonder - are we planting seeds of encouragement in those around us?  Are we going to reap a harvest of the sweet fruits of our labor?  Or are we sowing seeds of bitterness and condemnation and will painfully reap a harvest of stickers and sand burrs?

Daily we sew seeds with our words.  Think about your words - are you sarcastic?  Are you short or gruff?  Or are you kind and helpful and pleasant?

I don't know about you, but as someone who doesn't like to wear shoes, I don't like stickers - or sand burrs.  As we say around here, "If you can't say something nice, don't say nothin' at all."  (But c'mon - say or do something nice once in a while and reap a harvest of good things in your life!)

Welcome to the farm!

This freshly harvested wheat field is nestled Northwest Oklahoma.