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Yesterday my daughter phoned.  Just to chat. I had been planning on calling her.  My son had called the day before.  And a good friend had also called.  When a trinity of calls arrives unexpectedly - and none of the calls were written in my agenda book, or scheduled as "hangouts" on Google - you sense maybe God is in it! I'm sure that was the case.  And so, I've learned more about what each one is doing.  I know where prayers are best targeted.  I know future plans of each one.  And perhaps, in the future, a face-to-face opportunity will arise with each one.  But for now, thanks to A.G. Bell - I've moved a little closer, at least in the heart!

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.