by Jen Balkey
Fall In-House Retreat - November 5th & 6th
Fall is upon us. Many of us are sad that the warm weather is fading away while others are welcoming the cooler months. There are so many things “fall” to enjoy regardless of your preferred temperature: fresh picked apples, pumpkins, yummy treats, and trees adorned in beautiful colors.
We are to enjoy the beauty and splendor of His creation in the ways it grows and changes. The fall season is a reminder of God’s provision for us after a period of planting, growing, and waiting. Cultivating. Obedience. Faithfulness in persevering through the task that He set before you. At the time of the harvest we get to acknowledge God and all that He has seen us through and given to us. It is not enough to see and acknowledge the crop that is mature and ready. There is a purpose and importance in gathering and bringing in the harvest at its time. If left out in the field the mature crop will begin to deteriorate and go to waste.
This fall the Women’s Ministry of Hebron wants to celebrate the harvest by gathering together God’s people. I pray we can embrace this change of season, remembering God’s faithfulness and give thanks for how He provides for us in all of our needs - seen and unseen. Gretchen Saffles in, The Well Watered Woman, says, “We strive to give glory to God at each stage, and we trust Him with the harvest. Blooming will certainly come, but don’t miss the joy and beauty of growing.” We cannot be distracted by the harvests here on the earth and forget about the harvest that is to come for God’s people when He returns. Our personal journey of faith has a much longer growing season than that of the typical flower or crop and the harvest of God’s people has eternal implications not just to temporarily fill our bellies or delight our eyes. Saffles continues, “While humanity’s story began in a garden, it will culminate in another Garden - a perfect, redeemed, everlasting, always-blooming Garden.”
This fall we will gather together to celebrate this very truth. I hope that all women 18 years and over will mark your calendars, and invite a friend, to join together in our Women’s Ministry In-House Fall Retreat. A Harvest Worth Gathering, Women’s Retreat, will be held in the Barclay Building Friday, November 5th and Saturday the 6th. Keep your eyes and ears open for upcoming details.
