REFLECTION
57
Before the harvest is here , many months before we can reap , there has to be a letting go . The ground may or may not be fully prepared , and the timing doesn ’ t always feel right , but there has to be , at some point , a letting go .
And this process of letting go can be hard , with fingers clenched and nails biting into the palms , fists tight with sudden tension , we hold on to our seeds , symbolising what we know , what we love , all we are comfortable with and all we pride ourselves as ours .
WHEN YOU ARE HARVESTING IN YOUR FIELD AND YOU OVERLOOK A SHEAF , DO NOT GO BACK TO GET IT . LEAVE IT FOR THE FOREIGNER , THE FATHERLESS AND THE WIDOW , SO THAT THE LORD YOUR GOD MAY BLESS YOU IN ALL THE WORK OF YOUR HANDS .
Deuteronomy 24:19
Letting go can feel dangerous . We lose control , saying goodbye to the hold we have over our lives , our circumstances , our work , in order to set it free and trust it to the wind . We never know where it will land , this dream of ours , this idea , that painting , that opportunity , but without the letting go there will be no harvest . Seeds have to be sown by throwing our arms wide , opening our hands and letting the seeds fall where they will .
This analogy can be taken so much further . Living today is so often about control , getting the right price for the right goods , keeping to the rules , protecting what we see as fair , holding on to all that is ours . There is little encouragement to give our ideas away , to share what we have with whoever wants to take it up and run with it as theirs . Ideas , thoughts , finances , it ’ s a dangerous idea but it ’ s not a new one . The most ancient of writings we have encourage us , whether metaphorically or physically , to not reap to the edges of our field , to leave the gleanings for the alien , the orphan and the widow . And if we forget a sheaf , not go back for it but to leave it for the stranger and the needy .
This is what letting go means . To hold things more lightly , to not mistake fear for what is unfamiliar , and to be unendingly generous , or as one translation says , give outrageously .
Give with joy , give without measure , give with only the recipient in mind – open handed and expecting nothing in return .
And for all that we give , God has a habit of giving back to us . Maybe not in kind , replacing like for like , but certainly in joy . We will harvest in other ways . God has a way of surprising us with his divine generosity .
So as we prepare to let go , to open our hands , to take a risk , let ’ s pause and give thanks for what we have . The harvest will come . The sheaves will be gathered and shared and there will be plenty for all , especially ‘ the foreigner , the fatherless and the widow ’.
Jenny Hawke
Jenny Hawke is a London-based water colour artist and author . She uses her paintings to convey a sense of faith , peace and beauty . She also posts a thought for the day and a recent painting regularly on her Facebook page ( bit . ly / JennyHawke ). Jenny ’ s website is creativegrace . co . uk .