A Welcome Harvest

Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash

“Ah, fall,” I thought as I opened some windows around the house this morning.

The light breaking through the leaves, the fresh breeze, and the crisp cool air all pointed to it finally being fall. After so much rain and heat, it was starting to feel like fall would never come.

There is something so exciting about harvest time. All the smells, the foliage, and the newness of the season remind us that the holidays are right around the corner and a time for celebration has come.

Family apple picking trips are being planned and Christmas card photo sessions are being scheduled.

As I was looking through my fall Pinterest board this morning, I was imagining the steam coming from a hot cup of apple cider and the gooey goodness of a caramel apple.

But one of the most joyful things about the fall is the gatherings. We gather together to shop, to bake, to pick, to peel, to brew, and to eat. We have holidays and weekends away, and even the occasional winery picnic. It’s a time to be together.

There is something so precious about gathering. There is something so life-giving about community. Michael and I have contemplated moving several times in the past year, but it always boils down to if and where we would have community. It’s become that important to us.

There is something about sharing a pumpkin spice latte with a friend or bringing a warm pie to a neighbor that not only dignifies the hard work we do, but also gives way to conversation and collaboration. It gives us something to share.

As a child, I was horrible at sharing. Terrible. I really was a sight. I remember my mother buying my sister and I these really cool soda dispensers. My sister shared hers with the other neighborhood kids, but I refused to let anyone touch mine. I screamed if anyone came near it. This probably sounds funny to people who know me since I am an extra-extrovert and LOVE people.

Sometimes we can be afraid to share. Perhaps we are afraid of the thing we share getting broken, maybe we are afraid of an idea being stolen. Or, maybe we are even closed off from past experience. If there is anything that I have learned as I have found success, it’s that I could not have gotten there on my own. There are so many people who paved the way for me, walked it with me, and closed the loop behind me.

We can share passion and experience. We can share ideas and dreams. We can even share our fears. And still somehow end up at the same table together. It’s a lie that we can’t.

I grew up in New England where the foliage is superb. I remember driving up to the White Mountains in New Hampshire and seeing leaves of fiery red, bright orange, and yellow shining from the woods surrounding us. It was so beautiful seeing it all together in one scene that looked like a colorful painting. In order to have that image, we need all the trees and all the leaves…all the color and creativity they each have to offer.

Photo by Ricardo Gomez Angel on Unsplash

Friend, you are needed. What you have to offer brightens up the whole painting, and there is a seat for you at the table.

So, let’s break bread together, celebrate the places in each other’s lives where there is great harvest, and welcome fall!