After the Harvest

Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 2 Corinthians 9:6

What a Farmer Does

The Bible has a lot to say about sowing and reaping. Now that I’m living in a farm community, I’m coming to understand some of those passages in new ways.

The season of reaping is almost over here. Farmers have been in their fields, harvesting their corn and soybeans and hauling it away for storage or transportation.

Recently I asked my husband and father-in-law to tell me more about the harvest process and what happens to the grain. I’d observed it as a child on my grandfather’s farm, and my husband has talked to me about it over the years. But now that I live in a place where I see tractors drive in front of the house several times a day, it matters differently.

Throughout my life, when I’ve thought about harvest, it’s been in terms of completion. You sow the seeds. Then you reap the grain. First you sow; then you reap. When you reap, it’s the end of the story, right?

In the Parable of the Sower (found in Matthew, Mark, and Luke), Jesus talks about sowing the seeds, and He says that when we sow on good soil, we reap a bountiful harvest. He is teaching us about where we spread the Gospel and how people respond to it. People could understand His lesson because they understood sowing, reaping, and soil on a literal level, too. We reap what we sow, and where and how we sow matters.

As I reacquaint myself with farming, I am reminded that although reaping is the natural conclusion of sowing particular seeds, harvest is more than just the end of a growing season.

Harvest also is the beginning of the next growing season.

After the harvest, farmers think about seeds, crop rotation, yield, and fertilizer. They may prepare their fields in some way, even though they won’t plant again for months. They come to agreements with grain elevators and landowners. They know that life will bring a new season of sowing and reaping; they need to be ready.

The winter work of a farmer may not be visible, but it is there nonetheless, behind the scenes. He rests some, because God showed us that it is good to rest after working hard—but the farmer doesn’t hibernate. He gets back to work

While there are no guarantees of what the future holds, a farmer does his best to ensure that his seed will land on good soil so he can reap a good and bountiful crop.

After the harvest, there is a winter filled with planning, preparing, and hope for the coming growing season.

Sowing and Reaping in Marriage

My journey to work on sex has shown me time and time again the connection between sowing and reaping.

When I put very little effort into my marriage or my issues with sex, I was able to harvest very little in the way of growth or marital contentment. When I sowed well and put the work in, however, I saw a bountiful yield both in my heart and in my marriage.

When I didn’t sow much, I didn’t reap much.

And when I did sow well? I reaped a wonderful harvest.

End of story? Not by a long shot.

Once I got through the bulk of my work and saw the changes in my marriage, I didn’t just hibernate and wake up again when it was time for a new season of sowing and reaping in my marriage.

After the harvest, I allowed myself to rest some—but then I got back to work. I remained in prayer for my marriage and for the sexual part of our relationship. I continued learning about my husband, about sex, and about marriage.

Although I had already reaped the harvest from the seeds I had planted and nurtured during that growing season, I knew that life would bring us new seasons. I needed to be ready for the sowing of new seeds that would lead to another reaping. I wanted to be sure my heart and mind were good soil.

After my harvest, there was prayer.

Preparation.

Hope.

Prepare Yourself

If you have worked hard and made good progress on your journey to address sex, you have probably seen some harvest of the seeds you sowed. You may be coasting in the downtime. If you’ve been working hard, it is good to rest and refresh yourself.

Just be sure you get back to work. Life will bring you new seasons for growing. What do you need to do to be good soil when that time comes? How are you preparing to sow well so you can reap well?

Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Galatians 6:9

Image credit | Chris Taylor