Enjoying the Fruit of Harvest

This past Monday, my husband and I drove to Pullman to take one of our labs for a checkup at the WSU Veterinary Clinic. Our route took us on a two-lane highway curving through prime farm land plentiful with wheat fields. By this time, though, with wheat harvest nearing completion, most of these fields had taken on a scoured look since after combining is accomplished, wheat stubble is often cut and baled for straw. We saw many combines now "parked" and evidently waiting winterization. My husband and I debated if lined up combines in fields near the farmhouses were a fait accompli sign farmer to farmer.

Harvest in reality, though, is just a step in a process. A crop is useless if it is not enjoyed.

 

That is where the wheat trucks traveling our roads come in. And they were very abundant this past Monday. I lost count as to how many we saw.

 

The wheat has to be moved to elevators and/or overflow wheat piles, which look a bit like giant ant hills. (Here's a photo from an internet source.)

It is, then, loaded on railcars or barges to make its way eventually to processing plants, where it is milled into flour. That is subsequently made into product that finds its way to our tables to be enjoyed.

 

That's the point of harvest—the fruit being enjoyed.

 

And, the point of our prayers for our children is not just for a harvest of salvation but for the fruit that comes afterwards that is a joy to the Lord.

 

"…the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law."

Galatians 5:22-23

 

Seeing that fruit in a believer's life is what gives the Lord much joy. I think John's words written through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit say it well and echo the Lord's heart.

 

"I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth."

3 John 4

 

Our persistent and fervent prayers at work in our children's lives will help keep that fruit fresh and enjoyable for the Lord's enjoyment.