Daily Worship

The Fallow Land

Fiona Campbell October 12, 2016 0 0

Deuteronomy 11

10 The land you are entering to take over is not like the land of Egypt, from which you have come, where you planted your seed and irrigated it by foot as in a vegetable garden. 11 But the land you are crossing the Jordan to take possession of is a land of mountains and valleys that drinks rain from heaven. 12 It is a land the Lord your God cares for; the eyes of the Lord your God are continually on it from the beginning of the year to its end.

From 6,000 BC farmers have understood the need to rotate crop types to avoid depleting the soil and building up pests, and by 800 AD, leaving some fields fallow each year had become the norm,      Today, Farmers Weekly carries news of the instructions for farmers in 2016 regarding  “the greening requirements on field margins, buffer strips and fallow”.  

The idea of rest and change for regeneration is both an agricultural and a  spiritual concept, with “breaking the fallow ground” an important follow-on.

 

Looking at a fallow field Lord, it seems like nothing is happening.
The ground is left : the weeds, grass and poppies crowd in, 
and it becomes a pleasant place for dog-walkers and strollers.
But deep in the soil, renewal has the space to flourish.
When my life becomes over-stretched and busy, help me to create
spaces for rest and regeneration.  
Time to be still, and know that you are God.

I want to grow as a Christian, Lord,
so help me to tend the ground of my faith
so that its fruits are fed and watered.

May I wait quietly upon you Lord, seeking your guidance for my daily behaviour.
But the prophet Jeremiah also says, “Break up your fallow ground, 
and do not sow among thorns,” so after reflection, stir me to action in the strength
of your Holy Sprit, so that I can find the destiny you have in store for me.

Amen