"If you haven’t had a Honey Crisp, we’ll I’m pretty sure they were the ones in the Garden of Eden." .
The photo on the left is shot a few streets from our house. What first caught my attention was not the apples on the tree but the simple sign put up by the owner, encouraging passers-by and strangers to pick the apples free of charge! Apparently, the tree is so productive that there is more than enough apples for the owners. Note the ladder placed next to the tree. How thoughtful (and generous) is the owner!
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"Rare is the farmer who brings in a harvest without having a great deal of deep inner satisfaction and joy." The end of summer is a time for harvesting. When we start to reap the fruits of our labour (i.e. when we begin to see success), don't let our feelings of accomplishment, and the resulting self-empowerment, go to our head. Instead, remember to place our harvest in the following four bins (Waitley, 1992; 268). :
- A place for storing a portion to eat now - some never partake of the rewards they have earned. Sample a portion of your reward. Delight in it. Enjoy it to the max. And don't feel guilty about it.
- A place for storing a portion to save for future eating or emergencies - don't spend all that you earned. Set aside some as savings with an eye toward withstanding future emergencies or pursuing unanticipated opportunities.
- A place for storing a portion to take to the market - for reinvestment in your field and for purchasing future seed, equipment and more acreage! So that you will remain competitive! In particular, reinvest in your education, training, or skill development. Otherwise, our skills become obsolete, knowledge old, and ability to think, write and remember rusty.
- A place to put the portion of your harvest that you will give away - in ancient days, farmers left a corner of their fields unharvested so that the poor might glean them. The practice ensured that everybody in a community had sufficient to eat. We owe our success to others, and it is only right that we contribute to others' success.
Alright to ask for and seek success: You don't need to apologize to anyone for having your success, for desiring to be a success, or for trying to succeed. Anything that you can achieve through honest, genuine effort is inherently good, especially as it spills over to benefit others along the way. Hence, my prayer:
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"Oh God, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory!"
(1 Chronicles 4:10)
