Harvest Time

I play Farmville. A lot. I admit, I’m addicted to it. There’s something so comforting in the inaneness and tedium of click-plow, click-seed, click-harvest. It soothes me for some reason. I even got my husband playing, and it’s so funny to see him discover the game–first thing he said was, “I want a house y todo”. He’s a funny guy, my husband. I love it, though… Setting aside certain areas for crops, deciding what I want to plant and then seeing those crops grow in a few days to where I can click and get paid. (I’m trying to get mastery on peppers.) I rather like it… It’s fun.

Today it hit me how ironic it is that my hubby and I are both Farmvillin’ it right now. We’ve been through some rough times this past few years. By the grace of God, we’ve been able to turn a lot of things around, healed and mended areas, and are actually stepping into some areas of ministry that we’ve prayed about for some years. We got a prophecy around New Year, that this was our harvest season–that we had sown and now was our time to harvest and see the fruits of all our fighting and pressing. I know when I hear “harvest” I automatically think prosperity–abundance, good stuff, basically things are gonna be a lot easier. Funnily enough, the first 2 weeks of this year, our “harvest season”, have been a battle. It’s really been one attack after another. Am I able to handle these attacks better than previously? Absolutely. Did I expect the attacks? Somewhat, just given the nature of what it is God is calling us to do right now, but honestly, I didn’t expect things to be this HARD. After all, it’s my harvest season, dangit!

Well, as my husband and I were on our way to church this morning, we were talking about it all and he told me he’d been praying and asking God why we were having to work so hard in this harvest season, and it hit me. It’s just like Farmville. You plow the land, you plant the seeds, and unfortunately, you don’t just have the money sitting in your bank cuz your peppers are ripe. You have to go back and point-click to harvest them JUST LIKE you did when you plowed and planted. Real farming is the same way… You work the land, get through the rocky soil, take the time to break it down and then plant, fertilize, and nurture that crop. Then when it’s time to harvest, you go back to that same exact field you tended before, and you have to work to reap your harvest.

This is my harvest season. Amen. But, that doesn’t mean that I get to sit back and relax, and that harvest is gonna plop down on my doorstep. (And truthfully, when do we ever really get to sit back and relax in the Kingdom of God?) I have to keep working so I can see the fruits of my labor. I don’t imagine in the natural, that harvest time is easy, but I’m sure looking forward to the Thanksgiving feast when it’s all said and done. I just gotta keep things in perspective, because when the harvest is over, just like in Farmville, I’m gonna hafta plow the land again, plant, and so on and on… Maybe I’ll get enough I can expand my farm or go up a level or 2.