“The combines are ready to roll!” read the text from Mom, and in an instant, I was 6 years old again and back in the fields of Gifford, Illinois.
I saw the sights. I smelled the smells. I heard the sounds. I felt what it’s like to feel miracles.
That’s the magic of harvest time: Where hard work, prayer, patience, and tiny bags of seeds turn into bumper crops that feed the world. I never grow tired of it, and if you, too, grew up in the middle of the middle west, neither do you.
I believe it’s why our company connects so deeply with midwestern family businesses and much less so with silicon valley startups. They see our world and our sowing and our reaping as flyover country; we see it as miraculous.
We teach the metaphor of seed-time and harvest to our clients: Patience and prayer and handwork and hard work are worth it, and the crops that yield the greatest fruit take the longest to grow.
James Allen, quoted above, was something of a mysterious-but-miraculous writer in the 19th century. As Living Life Fully says of him:
James Allen is a literary mystery man. His inspirational writings have influenced millions for good. Yet today he remains almost unknown.
None of his nineteen books give a clue to his life other than to mention his place of residence – Ilfracombe, England. His name cannot be found in a major reference work. Not even the Library of Congress or the British Museum has much to say about him.Who was this man who believed in the power of thought to bring fame, fortune and happiness? Or did he, as Henry David Thoreau says, “hear a different drummer”?
James Allen never gained fame or fortune. That much is true. His was a quiet, unrewarded genius. He seldom made enough money from his writings to cover expenses.
Many farmers will tell you they know how James Allen feels. I think Mr. Allen would have felt right at home in my mom’s kitchen at the end of a long day.
Some say farming’s a dying art form… and I agree both literally and metaphorically… we need—desperately–more laborers.
Are you willing to labor?
Are you willing to spend this harvest time… planting?
Can you build a habit of pointing out what people do well?
Can you find inspirational things to say to your children while still holding them accountable and loving them with truth?
Can you measure and reward your team’s efforts instead of simply measuring them? Remember, when it comes to employee loyalty, money’s but the fourth “m!”
Can you face your fears, toss your trolls, and sow something of value for your community?
Today, my verses were Matthew 9:37-38. What will your verse be?
For we don’t know how many harvests we’re promised… not one of us but Him knows the answer to that mystery.
So, today, labor. Work on something that matters. Work on something that will inspire a habit, build character, and shape a destiny.
It’s the Law of Harvest.
It’s a miracle.
Amen.
