There’s Still a Harvest:
What if the season you think is coming to an end is actually the season God has been preparing you for all along?
Since the seeds were planted in late summer, I’ve watched this pumpkin field go through every stage of its proverbial life during my morning walks. I’ve watched the first signs of growth emerge from the soil, the vines stretch across the ground, the blossoms appear, and the pumpkins begin to grow. I’ve witnessed its beauty, its growth, and now its fading. Each morning, this field has told a little more of its story.
Today, I find myself standing at the edge of that same field, looking at what appears to be the end of its season. But God is showing me something beautiful about covenant marriage.
From the road it doesn’t look like much anymore. The leaves are dying, the vines are withered, and the beautiful green growth is fading. It looks like a field that has finished its purpose.
But then I walk into it.
There is still so much fruit waiting to be harvested!
Beautiful pumpkins are scattered throughout the field, hidden beneath dying leaves and tangled vines. I couldn’t see them from a distance. I had to walk a little closer.
That had me thinking about my marriage to Ed and the season God has us in right now. Our children are grown. Our careers are slowing down. The busy years of raising a family and building our lives are giving way to new opportunities to serve God together.
We aren’t at the end of our growing season.
We’re entering a different season of harvest!
The vines in the patch grew, stretched, weathered storms, and produced fruit. Even as they fade, the evidence of their labor remains.
Isn’t that a beautiful picture of covenant marriage?
Ed and I have weathered our own seasons of joy, heartache, rebuilding. Each one has shaped us for what God is preparing next.
As I'm walking the path cut the the field, I notice several pumpkins crushed in the middle of the path.
Life can do that to a marriage, too. Pressures, disappointments, and unexpected hardships can leave wounds behind. Life can be crushing at times.
But here’s what strikes me.
Several crushed pumpkins don't mean the entire field is ruined.
There is still so much fruit waiting to be discovered.
How often do we focus on what has changed, faded, or been damaged in our marriages and overlook the beauty that remains?
Don’t mistake the end of one season for the end of your purpose together.
Ed and I are discovering that covenant marriage isn’t just about building a life together. It’s about allowing God to use the life we’ve built for His glory.
Years of loving, forgiving, sacrificing, and choosing one another have produced fruit. Perhaps now is the season to share that harvest with others.
Isaiah 43:19 reminds us: “Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it?” (KJV)
God isn’t finished with us, and He isn’t finished with our marriage. Sometimes the harvest is hidden beneath the evidence of seasons that have passed. We simply have to look a little closer.
Ed and I aren’t finished growing, loving, learning, or serving. We’re discovering what this next season of our covenant marriage is meant to produce.
So here’s my encouragement to every couple. Don’t stand at the edge of your marriage and judge it by what you see from a distance.
Walk into it.
Look closer.
Tend to what’s been wounded. Celebrate what’s been produced.
Trust God with what’s ahead.
The vines may look different, but that doesn’t mean the harvest is over.
Great is His faithfulness.
by Renee D. Trivisonno with Marriage Recharge