This was supposed to be the week I harvested a field of Autumn beauty. Sixty days ago, I planted sunflower seeds so that I would have a beautiful ending to what has been an unusual season for our farm. But alas... I only have rows of beautifully grown stems. Thankfully, I planted a few raised beds beside the greenhouse so I still have a few we can use for tomorrow's table decorations. What happened, you ask? Well... let's see...
It wasn't the seed. I have been ordering hybrid seeds for pollenless sunflowers from the same supplier for several years now and have always gotten good results. It wasn't the soil. The ground was tended the same way we always do, removing the weeds and grass and running rows at just the right depth. It wasn't the nourishment needed from things like nitrogen and rain. We used the same fertilizer we always do and we had some good gulley-washers early in the season to moisten the dirt after the hot summer months. I'll tell you what it was... It was the deer!
As the deer panteth for the water... they also obviously sniff out the sunflowers! We haven't had this problem before but, then again, I haven't planted sunflowers this late in the season before, either. As their natural vegetation began to go dormant in preparation for winter, the deer were determined to find food... and they found it in my garden. To be honest, the loss of my sunflower crop seems like a likely sunset for this summer as we have lost several animals to predators, too... coyotes who claimed a goat and a sheep when they found themselves outside the fence. My reminder from this season's less-than-stellar harvest is this...
It's not enough just to plant the seed. It's not enough to only provide the nourishment it needs. You must also protect it if you expect to receive any fruit from your labor. You can't just put the seed out there and plan for a harvest when you know there is an enemy who would love nothing more than to chew the top off the plant, stunting growth and rendering the stem unable to make a flower. I think about the parable of the soils contained in Matthew, Mark and Luke, and I feel like this season was a combination of the seeds the birds devoured and the ones the weeds choked out. I also think about how we can start on a journey with the best of intentions, Bible study and daily devotion, but we get busy or lost along the way. Yes, sixty days ago I talked about the difference that can come in the life of an individual when they commit themselves to growth, but that change only comes when we protect our heads and our hearts (and likely our schedules) from the one who wants to steal the harvest that is to come.
If you have received the One who gives seeds through His Word, you can know they are good. In fact, 1 Peter 1:23 tells us they are "incorruptible". If you work to water and nurture them, they will surely take root and begin to grow. But you cannot be naive nor neglect the harsh reality that there is someone who would like to render your fields barren. He can't stop the seed, but he will stunt your growth if you let him. So...
"Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour."
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