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:

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!