Harvest in the winter

Jesus said that we will reap what we sow. Well, just yesterday I did. I had a harvest on the most wintry day of the year.

My husband and I have been reaching out to a couple in our neighborhood  in an intentional way for a number of months now. We invited them to explore the meaning of life with us through the lens of Christianity, using the Alpha course which we have on DVD.

Our neighbors were open and excited about this adventure, while admitting honestly that at first they also had a few reservations and fears. Over the last while God has been at work in their lives. As we spend time each week with tea and dessert talking about life issues, past experiences, concerns for the future, and their eternal destiny we have come to respect and love each other as friends. Not only that, but we are now brothers and sisters because they have joined the family of God by receiving Jesus as their Saviour and have been filled with the Holy Spirit.

We have shared food together, we have introduced our neighbors to friends from our church, we watch each other’s homes when we go away, they brought us some fruit from Florida a few weeks ago, we delivered some Christmas cookies to them during the holidays. Our relationship is growing through time spent together, and simple kindnesses that flow back and forth.

Yesterday we were in the middle of the biggest snow storm of the season:  snow, freezing rain, ice pellets, more snow. It continued all day. Now the world outside my window is nestled under a blanket of soft, fluffy, beautiful,  pure white snow. It clings to the bushes, piles on the rooftops, and fills up the driveways.

Late yesterday afternoon the snowplow went down our street creating huge and heavy ridges at the ends of all the laneways. Before long I heard our neighbor outside using his snowblower – he was cleaning out his laneway and front walk. Next thing I knew he was at the end of our driveway using his machine to blow the heavy stuff away and create a clear path so we could get our car out. What a thoughtful thing to do! My heart was happy because of his generous act.

Sowing kindness and love into others is not difficult to do, and it creates a rich harvest. The marvelous thing is that we can sow and reap anytime. God is not limited to a specific time or season. We began planting some seeds this fall; yesterday we had a harvest in the winter. How awesome is that?

“Little deeds of kindness, little words of love, help to make earth happy, like the heaven above.” (Julia Carney)

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