Monthly Archives: September 2012

This morning I was reading in Exodus – that great second book of the Bible that describes the Israelites leaving the slavery of Egypt.  Got into chapter 12.

There the Jews are told to change the beginning date of their year.  Where that date began previously, I’m not sure.  Probably based on the culture of the Egyptians.

But now, the new year would begin on the Passover.  The day of salvation.  A constant reminder as to what was cherished in their culture.

I wonder how we have set our new years?

We begin January 1st, which would appear to be related to our surroundings.  That’s when the days get longer and the hope of sunny days is ahead.

We begin in September, which would appear to be related to our selves and the betterment we get when we start a new academic year.

Some people set the new year based on the loss of a loved one.  Some on the achievement of greatness.  Some on a church year based in the Easter story.  Some of us are conflicted because we have many new years!

New years signal new beginnings.  If we have no celebration(s), perhaps we have lost hope?

Well, weather yesterday was well enough to have dried the wheat.  Foodgrains Bank wheat is ready to be delivered to the world.

I headed out in the afternoon to watch – and as I arrived a few spatters of rain fell.  Felt like a repeat of the previous day.  But the cutting of stalks of wheat and the threshing of the wheat within the combines continued on. 

144 acres does not take long to harvest.  And the world will benefit.

10:00 am, September 4, 2012.

Time to harvest.  144 acres of seeded wheat crop.  Waiting to be combined.  And then sent to parts of the world in relief of hunger and famine.

I headed 5 miles west and 2.5 miles north to be there.  As I approached the field I could see the rain gathering.  I had seen a rainbow on the way – not a good sign, in this case.

A small smattering of raindrops hit my windshield as I stepped from the car.  Soon my jacket was also spotted with water.  The radar had shown the possible clouds coming slowly.  Apparently the upper winds pushed them along faster than expected.

A quick swath of an acre or so was about all that got done.  The rain continued to fall and an early lunch was arranged.   The hope was to eat and then return to the fields if the rain was just a touch and not a complete downpour.  Then, start the engines and harvest the crop!

Didn’t happen.  Not yesterday.  Probably not today. 

“It will happen” – as the harvesters optimistically told me.  As the saying goes – God’s timetable  is not always our timetable.

A wind blew through.

One farmer had 50% damage to his crops.  Others had whole rows of swaths roll up into bundles – some as high as a meter or more.

The season for harvest is often accompanies with adverse conditions.  The easiest to deal with is the overnight rain.  Just a sprinkle that dries with a slight breeze in the morning.

But then there is the massive thunderstorms that are often accompanied with hail.  The rain itself can break a stalk of wheat and leave the harvesting of the head nearly impossible.  But when hail chops the stand of ripe crop, a whole year of hope is lost in a moment.

Our recent wind shows just how strong something we cannot see can affect what we do see.  Measuring up to 105 km/hr, this plough wind takes everything in its path.

I wonder if our lives, the points where the greatest good is happening, are not like these days of harvest.  Expect the unexpected, trust in God for your assurance and insurance, and get out the combines!!