Accidental Harvest

A few months ago, we had several loads of dirt delivered to the farm to continue the existing berm down the balance of our property. We plan to use the dirt to protect our land from future flooding. We haven’t relocated the dirt and the mounds have turned green from the abundance of sun and rain. It was on my afternoon walk that I first noticed our accidental harvest. The dirt mounds were dotted with red, orange and green cherry tomatoes. The unexpected sight whispered to me, “This is your accidental harvest.” Each day, for weeks, I’ve taken my daily walk and gathered the ripening tomatoes and pondered the words “accidental harvest” asking God what they meant. I shifted my lens from the physical to the spiritual and my mind opened and my heart received God’s message.

It is in the fortification of our spiritual walls that we receive the gifts of the spirit. As we began the process of shoring up our land, our chosen tool, dirt, has produced gifts. These gifts did not come from works or my labor or from performance, they were unplanned and unearned, like the gifting from our Father. They came to us through grace, purposed for our unique and personal growth and the edification of the church. No gift of the spirit can be earned.

We have gathered so many tomatoes it has created a lifestyle change in that we are no longer purchasing tomatoes.  The gifts have also opened up those few “tomato” dollars each week for other purchases, creating an impact, in the physical, that stretches beyond our home. Our lifestyle was changed from purchasing, through earned income, to gathering, like God’s gift of manna in the wilderness. The gifts have a ripple of impact. The testimony of God’s provision is shared with our friends and those who visit with us. Through God’s heavenly design, these gifts will ultimately impact the nations.

Our salvation is a miracle. We receive that miracle and become it. A rebirth and renewing that defies logic and activates faith. These tomatoes are tangible reminders of God’s endless gifts, bringing to me even greater revelation of the Garden. God created us with His breath, gave us life through sacrifice and sustained us through His gifts of grace. The power of death on the cross and the miraculous resurrection, which defeated sin and ended the curse on humanity, has changed the course of history. We no longer have to look upon the Garden by way of glimpses through the keyhole. It was unlocked and made available to us. We are once again able to walk with God, in the cool of the day, and hear His voice and receive His harvest.

The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest. Matthew 9:37-38