Abundant Fruit

The sweet peas were awesome this year! They were such a source of joy after last year’s dismal crop. For a while I was picking 50-60 sweet peas every day. The plants are at the end of their growing season now, but what a fantastic harvest. They are so delicious and such a treat to share them with family and friends! There are certainly too many for me to eat by myself.

Friends have asked why this crop has been so good when last year’s was so bad. Of course, there is no single answer to that question, but “right time, right place” seems to sum it up.

Last year, spring was hot and dry. This spring has been cool and rainy, ideal for the peas.

This year, I planted my seeds in their happy place, perhaps because the soil contains the right nutrients, perhaps because the hedge row blocks the afternoon sun. Maybe there was a lesson I needed to learn from the failed crop last year. Whatever the reason, I am overwhelmed with gratitude for the abundant harvest this year.

Sometimes, there is a “right time, right place” for what God calls us to do as well. We may not understand why we need to do whatever it is God is calling us to do today and not tomorrow, but if God calls us to do it today, then today is when we should do it.

In Deuteronomy 1, God tells his people to enter the promised land. Afraid, they delay their obedience. When Moses chastises them, they decide to obey the earlier command, but do not ask if they should. The result is a rout, followed by 40 years of wandering.

Although I told you, you would not listen. You rebelled against the command of the Lord and presumptuously went up into the hill country. Deuteronomy 1:43.

Compare this failure to the battle of Jericho, where the people follow God’s unusual and illogical commands exactly, resulting in a tremendous victory (Joshua 6). I love the image of the walls just falling down without human effort. It gives me hope when I look at some of the supposedly insurmountable problems facing us today.

This year’s thriving sweet peas, after last year’s failure, also gives me hope. What happened last year does not dictate what can happen this year. Our past need not determine our future; if we obey God, anything can happen. Four years ago, my life was falling apart as I walked my husband through his last month on earth. Who could have predicted that this year I would rejoice over an abundant sweet pea harvest?

In fact, the abundant fruit caused a problem. The plants grew taller than expected, taller than my support cages. Laden with the relatively heavy ripe fruit, the tops of the plants fell over. Such abundant fruit needs better supports. Gently, I encouraged the plants to stay upright and not become entangled. Next year I will provide taller supports, but for this year I could only try to lessen the stress on the plant.

One of the best way to do this is to pick the peas. As I break off the ripe fruit, the branch lifts, its burden removed.

Can the fruit God’s Spirit produces in us become a burden for us as well? If we retain our grasp on it and do not share it with others, will it weigh us down, hinder our growth and entangle us? Is love really love if we do not give it to others? What about gentleness and patience? Doesn’t God give us gifts precisely so that we will share them with others?

I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. Genesis 12:2.

Like good stewards of the manifold grace of God, serve one another with whatever gift each of you has received. 1 Peter 4:10.

God can produce an abundant harvest in you, in the right place, at the right time. If He is, take the time today to share your abundance with others.

Betsy