discovering reservoir life>>

Money may not buy happiness but a new pair of picking gloves goes a LONG way in making this girl's day!  We're in full-swing, harvest mode and I have mixed emotions about the change of pace.  As much as we love 'vacation mode', touring the island and beach days with visiting family and friends; the return to hard-work is both refreshing and rewarding!  It's also exhausting.  As soon as we've finished picking one section, it's time to start again!  No exaggeration here.  It's quite incredible to witness: green cherries one day, red the next!  And I truly believe God is behind it all!
We did our best to refrain from conjuring up grand expectations for this harvest.  Not that we weren't praying and hoping for abundant crops, but we were up against our fair share of obstacles, weeds and beetles.  Without any idea of what to expect, we simply 'did the possible' and left the rest in the hands of the Creator.  And now we're surprised to find fields bursting with cherries to be picked!?  Oh, He is SO good!

I will admit, I lose sight of the goodness at times; simply seeing row after row and cherries as far as I can see.  Yet, God gives me the strength I need for each and every moment.  He also reminds me of His love in amazing ways; a heart shaped leaf, an amazing Bible verse to accompany me through the day.  Between Derek, Kai and my lack of multi tasking skills, there's no shortage of laughter in our fields!  Apparently, the simultaneous picking of coffee cherries and cracking of sunflower seeds is significantly more difficult for me than it is for my husband!?
Some coffee picking benefits are obvious; we're beginning to earn money from the past seven months of work!  Hooray!!  But there's some less apparent pluses as well, the feeling of every tense muscle relaxing into a mattress that suddenly resembles a bed of clouds!  Or the fact that dinner just tastes better after eight hours in the field!  Finding the energy to make said dinner can be a feat all its own.  But, Derek does offer his assistance on occasion and even ventured out with friends for night diving, making for an amazing midnight date of lobster and brownies :)  And our weekends have become decidedly sweeter!  I'm acquiring a new appreciation for taking a nap, going for a run or meeting up with friends.  Derek's surfing skills are improving dramatically!  Being worn out makes us truly enjoy a lazy Sunday afternoon with our favorite TV show, guava cheesecake and a slightly competitive game of Gin Rummy.  (Let's just say we'll be having a rematch at our earliest convenience!)

My devotion a few days ago compared a reservoir and a canal, leaving quite the impression on me.  Water running through a canal will be quickly dispersed, leaving the canal dry.  A reservoir, however, is deep and has to fill all the way up before overflowing.  I must be a reservoir, allowing God to fill me completely and THEN overflowing to those around me and the tasks at hand.  It seems simple enough, but I so often forget that I need to be fueled in order to properly function.  Running on empty won't get me very far and will, eventually, backfire!
This theme seemed to be weaved throughout the whole week, consistent reminders of my need to be filled by Jesus before I can successfully accomplish ANYTHING!  That's the way He designed me!  I love it!!  I have quite a ways to go in implementing this into daily life.  But I am coming to realize that when I take time to talk to my Lover, read His letter to me, be still and appreciate all that He's doing in my life..  everything else seems to fall into place.  Life doesn't, necessarily, become easier but having the grace to deal with each obstacle makes all the difference.  Being grounded in the love of my Savior is vital to all the other relationships in my life.  The strength and peace I find in my quiet times with Him are my reason for embracing each new day!  I am discovering reservoir life!

'And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the Lord's holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge - that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.'  Ephesians 3:17-19