Harvest Home

Plump, ripe brambles. Such a bounty at this time of year. They’ve been harvesting these flavoursome berries for a few weeks in Angus. As I walked this morning, I scoured the verges to see if I’d missed our own wild harvest here. Relieved to find that although some are black, many remain red and scrawny. More sun please.

Fruits ripen at different rates, dependant on many factors: warmth, rainfall, sunshine, wind. Filled with the Spirit, we want to see the fruits of the Spirit developing within us for others to enjoy. Some take longer than others to mature. I remember the familiar anecdote about the woman who prayed fervently for more patience, only to find her children more challenging than ever. God was simply providing the perfect environment in which the fruit could ripen – or wither. The woman’s attitude would make the difference there.

What’s my attitude today? As I cry out for one thing or another, am I prepared to find that the way to maturity isn’t always basking in the sunshine – though it might be!

Attitude of Gratitude

I stood in my prayer alcove this morning and admired the blue sky and the sunshine, the green fields and the flowering bushes. Yes, the temps in our Scottish summer have done their usual nosedive and I am attired in three tops of varying thicknesses, but I am still awed by the beauty of a Scottish summer.

Everything is rarely rosy in our lives. There are always niggles that, if allowed to, can undermine our gratitude and turn a smile upside down. 

I’ve just received a lovely ‘thank-you’ note from someone very dear to me, whose memory is beginning to slip a bit. The gifts we’d given for her special birthday were probably muddled in her mind with a collection of other gifts she’d received, but her attitude was one of gratitude for the nearly daily skype calls I make. She may not remember the detail, but she remembers the bigger picture and her heart is grateful.

How often I neglect, or forget, or maybe not even notice the many gracious gifts God lavishes on me every day... but my heart is full of gratitude to him for the incredible gifts of life, love and sacrifice which I hope I never forget. 

The weather of my life may not always be summery, but I have a life, a saved life, which I have done nothing to deserve. It is all grace. And I am full of gratitude.

I guess we’re back to yesterday’s rainbow. Trace the rainbow through the rain. It’s always there, even if you can’t see it.