Harvesting

I found this blessing on "Old Age" by John O Donohue and it speaks to me.

A Blessing for Old Age by John O'Donohue

May the light of your soul mind you,
May all of your worry and anxiousness about becoming old
be transfigured,
May you be given a wisdom with the eye of your soul,
to see this beautiful time of harvesting.
May you have the commitment to harvest your life,
to heal what has hurt you, to allow it to come closer to you and become one with you.
May you have great dignity, may you have a sense of how free you are,
and above all may you be given the wonderful gift of meeting the eternal light
and beauty that is within you.
May you be blessed, and may you find a wonderful love in
yourself for yourself.

 

 

As I read it over I like this line:  may you have the commitment o "harvest your life."  That is what it feels like these days.

 

As I rest in the glow following my birthday and Easter celebrations, I do feel a sense of harvest.  The harvest is in appreciating the blessings of my life.

 

Monday night I preached an Easter message at Gender Road Christian Church for their "Acoustic service" - with only guitar accompaniement.  There were less than 10 people in attendance, but I really enjoyed the experience of being with a small community and worshipping.  And I like preparing and delivering a sermon once in a while.  It reminds me of the goodness of God and I get to put it into words. And not feel responsible for who comes and who gives.  I just show up and do what gives me joy.

 

Today I went to the movies and saw a documentary on a two day concert by Aretha Franklin in 1972 which produced the most popular gospel album of all time.  It was called "Amazing Grace."  It took me back to the joy I would experience at our small 5 PM service at Karl Road Christian Church.  That was my real education in gospel music and I loved it.  And feel blessed that I got to have those years of hearing Deric Norris play and bring in choirs to our little church.  I also have such fond memories of the "Acts of Faith" signing choir.  Most of the harvest is how we get to express our faith and experience the spirit in music.  It is so powerful.

 

The other area of harvest for me is with my family.  Almost every night there is a soccer game or a track meet with a grandchild participating.  When I played sports I did not ever have grandparents attend my games and when my children played sports or made music our grandparents lived too far away to attend games or concerts.  So, this living close by and having the opportunity to cheer these terrific kids on is a real gift.  

So, I am couple of days into this adventure of being in my 70's and so far so good.  If I just open my eyes I see that this really is a beautiful time of harvesting.