H is for HARVEST

It must be hard for some folks to appreciate harvest celebrations when their only experience of fruit and vegetables is in the aisles at Tesco or Sainsburys. It's difficult to imagine the work that is involved in ensuring that the carrots, parsnips, potatoes, turnips, cabbages, apples, pears and all the other plant-based products are always on the shelves for us to enjoy. The farmer depends so much on the weather that God sends him and even then, a lot of preparation is needed in order to reach harvest time successfully. In the orchards around home, there is constant pruning of the apple trees, to remove small shoots and branches so that all the tree's energy goes into making the fruit. But orchards need to be sprayed from springtime to prevent or reduce a variety of diseases that can at the most, inflict severe damage or at the least make the apples look unsightly. Grass needs to be cut around the trees, weeds removed and then, as harvest approaches,ladders, buckets, boxes and crates have to be transported to the field. Apple pickers have to be found and employed and even then, they need to be shown how to handle the delicate fruit to avoid bruising. When the pickers finish for the evening, the farmer can be seen bringing the full crates out of the orchard late into the evening. And the fruit is still nowhere near the shelves of the supermarket. Imagine too, that most farmers have other enterprises such as barley crops, silage and animals and you begin to get some idea why, for country folk especially, harvest time is an opportunity to thank God for still providing.

Yet in all our activities, we are blessed to have the machinery, a suitable climate and help. In other countries, much poorer than ourselves, harvest time is a constant worry all year as drought or extreme weather conditions can seriously damage a family's only income. That's why, when I pick up a tin or a product that was harvested halfway across the world, I am thankful that the God I serve is Lord of every harvest, rich and poor and I think of the hardships that have gone into providing me with something that requires no more effort than picking it up.

Even though I lived on a farm, we weren't big into harvest because dad really only kept cattle and there's not much harvesting to do at them, but we did have several apple orchards and, although a neighbour had rented them from us, occasionally we helped to pull the apples. I remember one year, offering to harvest the apple crop in the orchard adjacent to our house and then spraining my ankle during a rugby match just the weekend before we were due to start. The pain was excruciating but a promise is a promise so heroically I soldiered on , along with the help of wife and the hindrance of two very young sons. But we did it and that was a lesson in perseverance itself. Most of my experience of harvest though was working on the farm of a friend during my student holidays. Since I worked there at Christmas, Easter and summer, I saw all the stages of getting the ground prepared, sowing the crops, tending to them and then finally harvesting them and it made me realise that a farmer's work is never done because he has to fit all this around his normal everyday schedule.

But one incident springs to mind during the apple season. As the apple pickers carried on their day's work, they were often left alone in the orchard for hours at a time. Since wages depended on the number of boxes or crates they filled there was always the temptation to 'shake' the trees and gather the fallen apples, rather than have to position and move a ladder every few minutes. But within a few days the fallen apples had bruised quite badly and were then only fit for a lesser use, so all pickers were warned of the consequences. On one occasion, a very still day, as we approached the orchard, a huge tree was clearly swaying, but not in the breeze. The picker in question couldn't hide his misdemeanour and was shown a quick exit in the direction of his transport. We had a good laugh after he left, that he had been caught red-handed but it did serve as a warning to all around.

We're right in the middle of the harvest thanksgiving season in churches now and I am reminded of the story Jesus told about the man who, after a very successful harvest, having made lots of money, then built bigger stores and enjoyed himself. God, however, intervened and the man paid for his self-centredness with his life. It's a lesson to us all that no matter how much we think we contribute to the harvest, it's God who gives us it and it's the land that He created that brings forth our yield. Likewise, when Jesus tells us that more workers are needed for the harvest of souls, we should be in no doubt that while we can help to bring His message of salvation to others, it is Jesus who makes the seed grow in hearts and produce the harvest. That should encourage us to be workers in the harvest. And remember, when you work, the Master is always watching . Jesus himself said 'The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.' Lord , send me.