Sowing And Reaping

The summer has officially come to an end. Yesterday was Labor Day and today or tomorrow, most children in the area will start back to school. Some will go with great enthusiasm, some with mixed emotions and others, like me, with a little kicking and screaming, and a few tears. Don't get me wrong, I loved school as a child, and as an adult, I haven't been able to get enough. With an earned doctorate, I still revel in learning and teaching and the capacities and relationships that are built in the process of schooling. But there is still the transition, the letting go of summer's soft warm edges and schedules, the outdoor green bounty, the recklessness that summer invites. The transition from a relative boundary-less existence to a hide bound scheduled world is startling and terrifying. One cannot fail at lazing around and enjoying freedom. It is much easier to anticipate failure within structures and classrooms. The transition into fall demands a report card and so many of us feel,particularly at this time of year, as if we have accomplished little, whether in the summer or in our lives.

"Those who sowed with tears, will reap with songs of joy. Those who go out weeping, carrying the seed, will come again in joy shouldering their sheaves." Psalm 126: 6-7

I have always thought of Psalm 126 as the psalm of the terrified. When coming to the stark change of seasons, I am terrified. I haven't measured up, done enough, and have been overwhelmed by accidents and enemies. The end of summer knocks the breath out of us and we are all terrified and overwhelmed - if we are honest with ourselves. And yet, we can hear today, that God is actively restoring the possibilities for us, actively working on our behalf to provide bounty and redemption where there was none. While we are terrified, crestfallen and afraid of more failure, God's love for us is beyond measure, beyond our understanding. When we tremble as we move through doorways and seasons, fearing failure and humiliation, God is in the midst of our transitions, acting for the fulfillment and healing of the nations. Restoring the broken and defiled, healing the flood devastated and the evacuated, God is in the midst of the worst tragedies, and in the midst of our personal, painful transitions.

May we look around today and see the one perfect flower in the waning green garden, the one brilliant promise, the single shining hope that radiates in the midst of our otherwise anxious field. May we see God's abundance in the midst of our lack. May we catch a glimpse today of joy and laughter. And may we share the glimpse of God's abundance with others. We may sow today with tears, but God has promised to shower us with beauty, abundance,light and life. Our season of anxiety and want is short. May we have courage as we face the transitions of season and life. God goes with us through each.