Seeker

“Great things have small beginnings. Every downpour is just a raindrop; every fire is just a spark; every harvest is just a seed; every journey is just a step; because without that step there will be no journey; without that raindrop there can be no shower; without that seed there can be no harvest.” William Wilberforce A Parable of Jesus He also said, ‘With what can we compare the kingdom of God, or what parable will we use for it? It is like a mustard seed, which, when sown upon the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on earth; yet when it is sown it grows up and becomes the greatest of all shrubs, and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the air can make nests in its shade.’   Mark 4: 30 - 32 Image Credits: Sprouted acorn: Flickr, CC License Raindrops: Public domain Images Spark: Pixabay, public domain Harvest: Pixabay, public domain Journey: Flickr, CC License

Many schools and churches celebrate a Harvest Thanksgiving service around this time. In current form this tradition was started by an eccentric Vicar in Cornwall , England in the 19th century, but its roots go back thousands of years.  From the time that stone-age hunter-gatherers changed from a nomadic to an agrarian way of life and cultivated plants for food on a regular basis and domesticated animals, the beginnings and end of harvest seasons became hugely important - a cause for celebration and establishment of associated rituals. When the ancient Hebrews began to settle in the rich and fertile land of Canaan they adapted their worship of God to the seasons of the farming year. In this new land God promised that they would enjoy: "...a land with flowing streams, with springs and underground waters welling up in valleys and hills, a land of wheat and barley, a of vines and fig trees and pomegranates, a land of olive trees and honey, a land where you may eat bread ...