Focus on the good things at harvest

It is the season of harvest – a time for celebration and thanksgiving for the fruits and crops of the earth. Thanksgiving isn’t always straightforward. The state of the world and the particular challenges of our own individual lives can make thankfulness something that’s difficult to feel and achieve. And that’s why seasons like harvest are really helpful to us – because they lift us out of ourselves and help us to focus on the good things that God has done for us and will do for us in the future.

Jesus tells the story of a man who man who built himself bigger and bigger barns to store his ever increasing grain. This man becomes obsessed with storing up his goods. It reminds me a little of the beginning of lockdown when people bought so much loo roll and pasta, and hand sanitiser that there was none left to go round. To what end? A sense of security and safety. Jesus tells his listeners that the man who kept on building barns was rich only to himself – he wasn’t rich towards God.

To be rich towards God means coming before God in poverty. In the recognition that we are totally reliant on God. And the more we do that, the more we come to trust in God’s provision. Thanksgiving is the key. Thanksgiving opens up our hearts. If we can find one thing to thank God for each day, we soon find that we notice more and more things to be thankful for…and the whole world becomes a gift.

I was once privileged to spend quite a lot of time with a woman who, although she was dying, was full of joy. As she journeyed towards her death, she found more and more to be thankful for – the nurses who cared for her, the visitors who came to see her, smiles shared. Her thankfulness was born out of a situation of extreme poverty – she was well beyond storing up treasures for herself – she was utterly reliant on God for each moment of life he could give her. And yet her life seemed so incredibly rich. God poured upon her many riches in her last days.

So, a little thankfulness goes a long way. The practice of thanking God just once a day for one thing will blossom to produce uncountable fruits.

So begin today – think of one thing that you’re thankful for – and remember it might be something very small. Tomorrow, think of another.