Journeys 9-24-06

Journeys 9-24-06

Harvest has begun. I saw combines in corn fields on the way to Lincoln this week. I love the sight of a full field turning from green to brown. The edges have been mowed and everything is ready for harvest. For two weeks here the anticipation has been building. Grease guns were working overtime as farmers crawled out the combines and trucks and started getting them ready for the fall push. Implement parts and service people were working overtime to get that old combine up to snuff, one more time.

Sure the choppers get it going. Those dairy farmers get out early and chop that tall green stuff up for feed, leaving the field with a crew cut. But you know the real harvest is not far behind. The farm families I’ve talked to try and describe the urgency that’s been bred into them for several generations. They say, “Unless you’ve lived it, its hard to understand.” You gear up for Harvest in August and September, then all human resources are put toward getting the crop in from late September through November. It’s something you do together. The old timers down at the coffee spots tell me that back in the hand picking days, harvest happened all winter. That it was nothing to be harvesting in the snow. But now, in the mechanized age, it’s about getting that corn or beans or milo in and dried to the best selling condition, ASAP.

Somehow, everybody knows who’s combine gets in the field first. The weight and crop dryness numbers are attached to that piece of ground and it’s owner. Reputations and value as a farmer are at stake. Everybody knows about the inequity of the weather. But you’re still measured by the results of your harvest. As a stranger, getting those final big numbers out of a farmer is like asking your wife of 40 years what she weighs today. It’s just not done. If they want you to know, they’ll tell you. That’s knowledge for family and friends. The people who operate the scales at the grain elevator can tell you what that farmer’s face looks like when he or she feels good about their crop, and when they don’t.

So pray for our farmers this week. Pray that the rain stops now. Pray for the multiple support systems that have to be there for this single focused activity to get completed. Pray for safety, calm, patience, and compassion. Harvest is a time for prayer.

Grace & Peace,