Is dry and rattled ever a good thing?  Around here it is.  Our south field is full of soybeans waiting.  Dried up and rattling with the wind blowing through, plant leaves have gone from green to gold to brown, all in a season.  And the beans are about ready for harvest.  Am I?

I have felt dry and rattled myself at times.  And I know there are other stalks like me in the field—still standing, wondering, waiting.

I find company among other pilgrims progressing, especially when life leaves us dry and rattled.  Like my friend Jenny who had a brain tumor removed Friday on top of battling stage four lung cancer.  Like my friend Bridget who woke up on Monday not able to read and was admitted to the hospital for neurological tests.  Like my friend Bruce who had a bone marrow transplant Tuesday, hoping to save his life.  Like my friend Anne grieving the death of her daughter.  Like those I know fighting depression.  Like all my kids dealing with invisible disabilities.  Yes, life can leave us dry and rattled sometimes.

But there is good news!  There is gospel truth!

Dry and rattled means ripe for the picking.

Dry and rattled means ripe for resurrection.

We need this one hope when our hearts hurt, when we’re tired and worn, when hope starts bleeding out and we wonder what will become of us.  Our hope is in the One who hears our sigh, who sees our dry, who feels our insides rattling.  Our hope is in the One who overcame all our fears and tears on the cross—the only One who died and resurrected Himself and promised to do the same for us.

So you, the one who thinks no one knows.  You, the one who wonders if anyone cares.  You, the one who fears you’ve been forgotten?

He sees through shells.  He guides through hells.

May I ask a favor?  Stand with me and hold my hand while we wait in the dry, in the rattled, together?

He has a STRONG HOLD on us!  No power can stand against us!

Harvest is coming!

Are you dry enough yet?  Have you been rattled enough yet?

Are you ready for reaping instead of weeping?

Harvest is coming, my friend!

Weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.  Psalm 30:5