Thoughts From the Tractor Seat // Filled

This time of year, us farmers have only one thing on our minds and that's harvest. We've spent all year in preparation for, and anticipation of, this one season. All of the work that goes into tilling the ground, planting the seed...praying for rain...and now it's time to all work together to bring in the crops.

Harvest is something that I always look forward to, and this year I have gotten to help out even more than usual, which has been very exciting! There are all kinds of setbacks and discouragements that have come along the way, but sitting in the tractor for hours upon hours has given me a lot of time to think about all these little (or not so little) incidents. I'm hoping to do a short series of blog posts on the things that God has shown me through these day to day experiences. Hopefully I will find the time...it's raining today, that's the only reason I'm in the house and doing this right now! :)

Moving along--my main job this fall has been driving the grain cart. Basically, as the combine is driving through the field, harvesting the grain, I drive along beside and the combine can unload onto my cart without having to stop. Then, once the hopper in the combine is empty, I will pull away and go dump my load onto the semi. This way, the combine never has to stop harvesting and it helps us get our work done a lot faster.

As we were driving along through the field the other day and Grandpa was dumping on me, I got to thinking about it as a picture of my relationship with God. He can only fill me if I'm walking with Him daily. When I'm driving the grain cart, I have to make sure that I'm lined up perfectly with the combine and going the same exact speed, otherwise the grain will end up on the ground rather than in the cart (an expensive mistake). If we are not being filled with the grace and strength that God offers to us, that too can be costly in our Christian lives.

God wants to be pouring into us, but if we're just sitting at the other end of the field, He can't fill us up. I was challenged to a closer walk with the Lord. I am empty and cannot fill myself, but I can put myself in a position where He will fill me. And as God pours out His wondrous love and grace and power into my life, I can in turn go and pour that out on others.

Thanks for reading! Stop by again sometime--we're going to learn all kinds of things about Bindweed, combine fires, flat tires...and who knows what other lessons I will come up with as the harvest progresses! In the meantime, may you be filled up with all the fullness of God. (Eph. 3:19)