There is a time and season for everything. Farmers around the globe know that there are times and season in which it is good to plant certain crops. There are also times in which it is necessary to allow their fields to go fallow.

Now I’m no farmer, and I don’t pretend to play one on TV, (mostly because any plant I try to grow usually dies if left in my care). Yet, I’ve always been drawn to agriculture, and fields, and dirt, and rows of crops that I pass. I’m drawn to the rhythms of the seasons in which it takes to grow a fruitful harvest. But because of how far removed I am from actually living and working on a farm, its hard for me to understand the need for soil to have a time of being fallow. Stick with me, we will come back to talk about the fallow-time.

Recently, my family and I have been through some seasons of transition:

Hubby finished school.

Hubby started a new job.

I finished school.

I started a new job.

We sold a house.

We bought a house.

Car broke down.

Bought another car.

Kids finished a school year.

I began summer break with my kiddos…3 weeks into the break, the stores already had school supplies on display (seriously people!?!). Now, adjusting to the rhythms of the last few seasons has come with its fair share of emotions and challenges for me personally, namely, the feeling of lingering silence. Silence in my quiet time, silence in my drive time, and silence in my mind especially as I would try to write. This silent season has felt like reaching for a tall glass of water to drink, only to inhale a pile of dirt and cough up dust. No fun my friend.

Have you ever felt like that? Have you ever felt like you’ve lost an ability? Have you wrestled through difficult seasons? Seasons that aren’t bad but that feel difficult can sometimes be our times of going fallow. Here’s the exact definition of fallow:

-“Usually cultivated land that is allowed to lie idle during the growing season” 

Did you catch that friend? It happens during a growing season. Growth requires fallow-time.

God’s Word has a great deal of content with agricultural terms. People in bible-times understood the terms and seasons because they were so deeply connected to the earth and the care of their crops (here are a couple-Leviticus 25:1-7, Psalms 24:1). It was the lifeblood for many families in that time. Today, it is understood by farmers of all ages that sometimes the ground has to go fallow for a time in order to render a better soil for the upcoming planting and harvest times. The fallow ground has to be plowed and worked and left alone in order for the nutrients in the soil to be replenished so the soil can provide the incoming seed with the necessary components for successful and nourishing growth.

You see, fallow time is necessary. All seasons are necessary. Every season needs the one that came before it and the one that will come after it.

Friend, I’m not sure what season you may be walking or trudging through today. Whether you find yourself as one of my fellow fallows, or in the beginning seasons of growth, or if you are experiencing harvest time…no matter the season, you are not alone. These seasons are for our good; they are so necessary in the deep heart work that Our God is trying to do in us. We need the times that feel like we’re being worked on and plowed through and time to be left alone in the silence of God’s presence so we can cry out to Him for instruction and regain nourishment from His Word. That way, when we are given the opportunity again to hold onto all that’s being planted in us for the upcoming seasons of life, we can allow it to take deep root so we can bring a beautiful harvest back to Our God.

Let’s pray together friend:

Dear God, thank you for every season You allow us to walk through. Though some may be more difficult than others, we know that You are doing the necessary work in our hearts and minds to repair and restore the soil of our lives. Help us to trust the work you are doing in the times where we may not be able to physically see progress. Your Word tells us that You will complete the work You have begun (Philippians 1:6) and we will cling to that promise today Lord. We choose to remember that this life comes in seasons (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8) and we will embrace the season we find ourselves in. You Lord, intercede for us (Romans 8:26) and know the deep work that You are accomplishing. Help us to keep our thoughts focused on You and not on the distractions that would love to derail and destroy our thoughts and dreams. Your Word declares that You have made all things beautiful in its time (Ecclesiastes 3:11) and we will remember that today. Thank you for the Fallow-Time Lord, Amen. 

Friends, let’s get our hands in some dirt today so we can remember this life-lesson. Peace-liz