The other day I saw someone on social media say that “life feels so rich in September”. I couldn’t agree more! In this late summer harvest season, the Lord blesses us with abundant garden produce to preserve and share. I remarked to one of my coworkers the other day that the work has only just begun at the harvest - so much work goes into preparing, planting, tending, and harvesting, but we still need to do something with the harvest. Sometimes we feel overwhelmed by the sheer amount of preserving we have before us, but in those moments, we try to remember to praise the Lord for the abundance rather than feeling stressed about all the work ahead.
In the recent weeks, we’ve enjoyed a few especially vivid moments of abundance. A couple weeks ago, we went and picked several bushels of apples. We certainly have some hardworking students! We made gallons and gallons of apple cider and still brought a couple bushels of apples home for fresh eating and applesauce. I’m sure we’ll be very grateful for this abundance later as the days continue to get darker and cooler.
The process of cider-making was quite interesting. We picked the apples and washed them in a big plastic tub. Then we cut them into quarters, discarding any bad apples as we did so, to get them ready for grinding. The couple we did this with used a very interesting method to make cider. They had a DIY setup that involved running the apples through a garbage disposal (bought brand-new) and pressing them using a car jack! It might not be the most old-fashioned cider press, but it sure made great cider. Even after a couple hours of chopping and pressing, we still brought home tons of apples.
The harvest is plentiful, brothers and sisters! Most of you probably know where I’m going with this one:
And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.”
Matthew 9:35-38
What an rich image of the way God works with His people! His is a faithful Farmer with a plentiful harvest. This harvest belongs to Him - He created it and will preserve it to the end - yet He calls His own creation to join Him in the labor of the harvest. What a privilege to work in the Lord’s harvest field, which stood before Christ in the form of a harassed and helpless crowd. Christ had compassion on those who were lost - may we exhibit the same compassion and love others as He loved us by proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom to them in word and deed. And as the Lord calls us to it, may we faithfully pray for the Lord’s provision of laborers for His harvest, which He sovereignly reigns over.
Join me in memorizing: Isaiah 40:1-10
Prayer points:
Please pray that the Lord would provide laborers for His harvest.
Please pray that the Lord would strengthen and equip the laborers in His harvest.
Please pray for the students as they continue to adjust to life at Planted and think about choosing a church for their time here.
Please pray for me as I continue to adjust to my role as a staff member and prioritize different responsibilities well.
Please continue praying that God would begin to draw students for next year to Planted! If you know any young adults 18-24 who want to ground themselves in truth and grow in grace, please let me know - I’d love to talk to them and send them some information about Planted (you can reach me at kate@plantedgapyear.org with any questions about the Planted program)!
Ministry moment: After a busy couple weeks of class and food preservation, we are beginning preparations for our first major trip, which will take place at the end of the month, Lord willing!
Rooted in Him,
Kate