Beginning the harvest...

Ruth 1:20-22    [20] She said to them, “Call me no longer Naomi, call me Mara, for the Almighty had dealt bitterly with me.  [21] I went away full, but YHWH has brought me back empty; why call me Naomi when YHWH has dealt harshly with me, and the Almighty has brought calamity upon me?”[22] So Naomi returned together with Ruth the Moabite, her daughter-in-law, who came back with her from the country of Moab.  They came to Bethlehem at the beginning of the barley harvest.

Naomi is empty, but the field is full, ready for harvest.  I am struck by the times I am immersed in an event, but my heart is not in it.  I make a commitment and attend because it is the right thing to do, but I would rather be at home with my family or taking a walk or working on my sermon.  And the barley is ready and must be harvested now before the rains come and spoil the crop.

In theses times where my longing is to be somewhere else, God's provision is clear and present.  The reason for my presence becomes clear,  although sometimes not until the next day or week...

Just as the barley needs to be harvested, so is our need to trust in God's timing and seek the grain in the present moment.