I don't only get inspired from the Bible--Scientific American also stirs the pot--but it is a key source of thought in my life. Over the years a portion of Ps.16 also claimed my attention.Verses 5 and 6 read:
Lord, you have assigned me my portion and my cup; you have made my lot secure.
The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance.
Here's what provokes me in these few words: Am I grateful?
We all enjoy different foods every day; God has planned to take care of what is on our plate, literally and figuratively.
We all have a few places we generally stand; God has secured us in these places for the time being.
We all have some boundaries to our life; I can be grateful in the scenery He has given me to watch over.
Whatever is in the future will be delightful because God is gracious to us all, but especially to his children.
These following questions are common ones I ask myself: Why do I complain about my day? Why do I think the day should go 'better'? Is the grass really greener on the other side? So I have some weeds on my property. Is that so bad? There are some 'rocks' in my soil. Is there an upside? Can I be thankful for what I do have and might gain rather than what I don't have and won't likely acquire?
Read Ecclesiastes to find some additional simple, terse recommendations as to the focus of life. I think this might be my favorite book in the Bible for its distillation of all we hold dear into its most pure forms.
Thanks for reading! Let me know what is on your mind, too, please.
Friday, November 30, 2012
Thursday, November 29, 2012
He Who Works His Land Will Have Abundant Food
He Who Works His Land Will Have Abundant Food
Several years ago, this Proverb, 28:19, provoked some thoughtful introspection a few weeks after I returned from my brother-in-law's farm in South Dakota. I was there to assist him get his corn crop into his bins, bringing in loads of corn to the dryer. Though I grew up in Iowa, I didn't grow up on a farm; I know this is hard to believe.
My trips to Rick's farm were to me a sabattical, a respite from my work as a Physical Therapist to do some different work. Work is work, but the similarities and the differences were intriguing to me. To some in his community I was there to play at farming. Perhaps at first this was true, but it waned quickly as I struggled with the repairs and labor of long days and unfamiliar duties.
I had begun to learn of the risks Rick takes in a year, planting, waiting, pests, harvest weather, mechanical failure, price, yield and market timing.
The proverb is agrarian at heart, but my work as a PT is not. Still similarities seemed to abound. I faced risks in timing the planting of 'seed' in the lives of my children, my co-workers and my patients. There was not assurance that germination would occur unless the 'seed' was good and the soil was adequately prepared. Like most effort, one shot at it isn't enough; weather, cultivation and watchfullness for potential pests are variables. Effort well-begun can fail at the end without diligent attention. Even well-oiled machinery can break down. And yield in the context of my particular 'land' will vary from the neighbor next door.
Here is the poem I wrote in a moment of thoughtfullness:
What is your 'land'? What are the risks you face? How do you cope with these worries? Are you actively managing your situation or passively lamenting the difficulties you face? How responsible are you with your work, whatever it may be?
Lord, help these reading friends to be good stewards, not just for themselves, but for you. Help them to grasp the bigger picture, the one that is outside the obvious, larger than our mind's eye and harder to deal with than we hope. Help us all to see how loving you are toward us, recognizing that 'work' is something you desire we embrace, even though the 'thorns' and 'weeds' of life were not your choice for us.
Thanks for reading, friends!
Several years ago, this Proverb, 28:19, provoked some thoughtful introspection a few weeks after I returned from my brother-in-law's farm in South Dakota. I was there to assist him get his corn crop into his bins, bringing in loads of corn to the dryer. Though I grew up in Iowa, I didn't grow up on a farm; I know this is hard to believe.
My trips to Rick's farm were to me a sabattical, a respite from my work as a Physical Therapist to do some different work. Work is work, but the similarities and the differences were intriguing to me. To some in his community I was there to play at farming. Perhaps at first this was true, but it waned quickly as I struggled with the repairs and labor of long days and unfamiliar duties.
I had begun to learn of the risks Rick takes in a year, planting, waiting, pests, harvest weather, mechanical failure, price, yield and market timing.
The proverb is agrarian at heart, but my work as a PT is not. Still similarities seemed to abound. I faced risks in timing the planting of 'seed' in the lives of my children, my co-workers and my patients. There was not assurance that germination would occur unless the 'seed' was good and the soil was adequately prepared. Like most effort, one shot at it isn't enough; weather, cultivation and watchfullness for potential pests are variables. Effort well-begun can fail at the end without diligent attention. Even well-oiled machinery can break down. And yield in the context of my particular 'land' will vary from the neighbor next door.
Here is the poem I wrote in a moment of thoughtfullness:
He Who Works His Land Will Have Abundant Food
Lord, what is 'land' to me?
Is it not people and places?
Staff? Contracts? Home? Church?
Relationships? Property? Friends?
Give me wisdom to know when to plow, to plant, to pray,
to humbly trust you in the storms,
to delight in growth, to confront the pests,
to anticipate the harvest, to reap gratefully,
to wait with anticipation during winter.
Lord,
Help me be a
better steward
of all placed
before me.
What is your 'land'? What are the risks you face? How do you cope with these worries? Are you actively managing your situation or passively lamenting the difficulties you face? How responsible are you with your work, whatever it may be?
Lord, help these reading friends to be good stewards, not just for themselves, but for you. Help them to grasp the bigger picture, the one that is outside the obvious, larger than our mind's eye and harder to deal with than we hope. Help us all to see how loving you are toward us, recognizing that 'work' is something you desire we embrace, even though the 'thorns' and 'weeds' of life were not your choice for us.
Thanks for reading, friends!
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