A Year of Harvest

“What are these?” Michael asked while walking into our kitchen holding small pink berries.

“Cherries,” I said.

“Well, there are a ton of them on one of our trees,” he replied.

“Wait, we have cherries?!”

We have lived in our house for four years and have never had cherries grow in our yard before. We’ve had pears and peaches in the past but they didn’t grow last year at all.

I went outside and looked up. Yes, there were small round cherries starting to sprout throughout the whole tree. As the days passed, we noticed the cherries growing more round and more red. Soon we nibbled them and they were good but still tart. We waited a few more days before plucking handfuls down. The girls and I ate several.

Honestly, I had forgotten one of the trees by the side of our house even was a cherry tree.

But it was. It was always there. Resting. Waiting. Preparing for harvest. And that’s what I thought when I saw the first buds of cherries. It was a time of harvest. Our peaches and pears have started to grow too. I was afraid they weren’t going to come back this year. However it seems like they just needed a year of rest.

As I watched my daughters run around our fruit trees, I thought about how my life was in a season of harvest too. I waited years to be a mom, and I don’t take this season of our lives for granted. As I watched them I felt immense joy, and then I felt a small trickle of fear start to web itself into my mind. If today is a time of harvest, what will the future hold?

Before I let my mind wander too far off into fearful corners, I had to physically shake my head a little bit and think “no.” I would not let fearful thoughts of the future fill my mind. God reminded me what was true today, and I was going to revel in those thoughts instead. Today we are well. Today we are smiling. Today we are together. We are so blessed. It’s ok to be happy. It’s ok to enjoy the fruit. It’s ok to bask in the harvest.

Whether you are in a season of waiting and resting, or a season of harvest, I urge you to keep your mind of what is true and what is good.