- Sowing in the morning, sowing seeds of kindness,
- Sowing in the noontide and the dewy eve;
- Waiting for the harvest, and the time of reaping,
- We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.
- I grew up singing this song in my small, rural Methodist church. More often than not, we sang it in evening services. The message is pure and simple: we can go about our lives, morning, noon and night sowing seeds of kindness and we will return at the end of the day, rejoicing with the harvest.
- Sowing in the sunshine, sowing in the shadows,
- Fearing neither clouds nor winter’s chilling breeze;
- By and by the harvest, and the labor ended,
- We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.
- This kindness that we sow can be sown on bright sunny days and on dark, cloudy days. We can put kindness out there in warmth and cold. As we do, the harvest will come, and we will be grateful. We will know some personal happiness. We will be able to rejoice.
- Going forth with weeping, sowing for the Master,
- Though the loss sustained our spirit often grieves;
- When our weeping’s over, He will bid us welcome,
- We shall come rejoicing, bringing in the sheaves.
- This is the verse of the song that I now interpret as a Universalist, a seed that was being deeply sown in me as a Methodist but which has taken time to realize. We are invited to go through life sowing seeds of kindness (and other good seeds, all of which can be called “grace”), but there comes a time when the final seed sown is our life itself. Before we come to that moment, we will witness the sowing of the lives of others as they pass over. We will experience grief in the sowing of lives, but ultimately the sowing of our lives results in a cosmic welcoming home. So, what’s the message?
- If we can find joy, pleasure, grace and meaning in the sowing of kindness in our daily lives, death will take care of itself. We will find in the final sowing of our lives a grand welcome home.
- Bob Patrick
Nice reminder of childhood church memories… It wasn’t all all bad… Lots of good as well … I need to be reminded more often.
Yes, memories of my childhood faith can bring some positive feelings, thanks to your words today. Thanks!