Harvest

Life has been lush and forthcoming - especially this past year. I feel as though I am walking through a garden of abundance, plucking sweet red tomatoes from the vine, rescuing crunchy cucumbers from crowded vines, and having the choice of anything I desire from this fertile offering. It's almost more than I can handle!

I suppose a garden is a perfect metaphor for life. We sow seeds where we can barely imagine any possibility and if we continue to nurture the seeds and prepare for the fruit, firm in our faith that something will grow, something surely will. It may not be a whole field, or even a row that blossoms, but we will reap a harvest. If we don't plant a garden; if no seeds are planted, one thing is certain - there will be no reaping of rewards, and there will be no harvest.

And sometimes, even when we are diligent - things happen that are beyond our control; drought, flooding, twists and turns that are imposed on us. These can be seasons of devastation. But the season is not forever; it is but a few months before a new season of possibility presents itself. The trick is to hang on during that time, strong in the knowledge that it is a cycle and that this too shall pass.

These days I am like a happy farmer, collecting delectables in armfuls more than I can carry. I have had some years that have been more bountiful than others and some - even lean. But for some reason, this year is yielding a bumper crop. And I'll take it!

And for this I am truly grateful.

PS - I didn't plant an actual garden this year ... I ate my dad's stuff. All that about sowing seeds ... I was speaking metaphorically.