Welcome to fall! It’s that time of year when the trees turn from green to red, orange and
yellow, apples are ready to pick, and anything you could ever want comes in a pumpkin spice
scent or flavor!

It’s the season of harvest as well. Being a farmer is an incredibly hard job. It starts with
preparing the soil and making sure there are nutrients available to the plants. Then the seeds
need to be planted and watered. Once the seeds sprout and the plant starts growing, there is
additional watering and fertilizing that takes place. However, in that time of growth, there is an
enormous amount of hope and faith that the plant grows and provides the crop for harvest. If
the rain doesn’t come, if insects or animals come along and devour the plant, or if the
preparations weren’t sufficient, the crops will not come to be, and the harvest cannot take
place. I personally know farmers, and this period of time when plants grow is a heavy time for
them. Why? They don’t have control. But, farmers have incredible hope and faith.

Control is an interesting thing. We crave it. When we don’t have it, regardless of the situation,
life can be hard and stressful. We are literally out of control. Yet, when we have hope and faith,
the stress and worry we have due to our lack of control seem to diminish. Hope and faith take
practice. Giving God control isn’t necessarily easy, but it sure is powerful. He assures us that he has us in his right hand (Isaiah 41:10), but we have to take the step to trust in that truth.

So, as you enjoy fall and witness this beautiful time of harvest, let’s learn from our farmers who
put hope and faith that crops will grow. May we have hope and faith in times when we don’t
have control, and may we feel the produce of Christ’s peace.

Have a wonderful October!