PASTOR DAVE’S MUSINGS FROM THE HEARTLAND

November 2, 2020

FALL

The green bean and cucumber plants that were in my raised beds have been pick up by the city with my yard waste.  A new crop of fall kale is coming along nicely.  The okra, squash and most of the other plants would seem to be on their last legs with some hope of future fruit.  The plants in the herb garden have flowered and are preparing for winter. The tomatoes and peppers hold out for more fruit.

So far this season I have already covered my annuals three times.  Every year I debate when should I give up the ghost and let the plants complete their normal cycle.  This year the effort to save them seemed warranted because the predictions are that the temperatures should be above normal for at least a week which would allow the peppers to grow and the tomatoes to ripen.  Might even get a few more okra!

The third chapter of the Book of Ecclesiastes reminds us there are seasons and times for everything under heaven.  There is “a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted; … a time to keep and a time to throw away.” (Ec. 3:2, 6b)  Sounds simple enough!  Unfortunately, Ecclesiastes does not tell us how we know the right time to pluck up what is planted and when to throw away.

I hate to throw anything away.  In the garage there are two pairs of shoes that have seen their better days.  I keep them just in case I might have use for them when I am working in the yard.   Recently I was decluttering my files.  I came across a folder for an insurance policy that I believe is no longer active.  I hesitated throwing it out for fear it might still have some value and could be redeemed.

One of the reasons that I am reluctant to throw anything away is that there is always the possibility that what is discarded today will be needed tomorrow.  After the flood of 2018 my library was reduced by about 80%.  Some of the books were destroyed in the flood but many were discarded as the lower level of the house was reorganized.  Two or three times a month  I am doing something and wish I had one of the books that were ruined in the flood or has been discarded.  I think to myself, “I knew I should have kept them.”

One of the benefits of Part B of Medicare is an annual wellness visit.  For each of my visits the person doing the assessment asked if I had advance directives.  Even though I had completed them just before I retired, she suggested that I update them.  One of the questions asked on the Indiana Physician Orders for Scope of Treatment has to do with medical interventions.  There are three options: comfort measure (allow natural death), limited additional interventions and full intervention.  I checked the third option.  As with my gardening I chose to hang on.

Even though I chose option three, I realize from fifty years of ministry that there does come a time when the most appropriate choice is number one.  After spending a lifetime fighting the good fight, persevering with confidence, and meeting challenges as they come, there comes a point when enough is enough and it is time to complete a cycle that was begun with birth.

Fall is a time for plucking up the plants which were planted in the spring.  It is a reminder that all of the times and seasons of our life finally come to an end and we need the wisdom to know when the end has come and act appropriately.

(This article was first published on October 11, 2020.)