The Season of Harvest and the Lessons It Teaches

Isn’t October a wonderful time of year? The humidity of summer is fading away, brilliant color is taking over the trees, and signs of harvest are all around us.
There’s a good reason you see combines in almost every field. Lawrence County is the sixth-largest producer of corn in the state, with 39,500 acres of it planted this year. We rank fifth in the production of soybeans, with 23,000 acres. Hay, which is also being harvested now, covers 1,590 acres. Farms, pastures, and woodlands make up 60.4% of the county – over 238,000 acres.
Agriculture is our largest industry: the market value of livestock, crops, and other farm products topped $200 million this year. That figure doesn’t include ag-related businesses, which pump millions more into our economy.
Most people in Lawrence County have a farmer somewhere in their family tree; I and other first-generation farmers are grafting that branch onto ours. Why? We enjoy the rhythm of the seasons, the freedom of being outdoors, and the life lessons it teaches every day.
For farmers, harvest is the reward for months of patience and faith. They plant seeds without any guarantees: they wait for rain, endure storms, and trust in a process they cannot fully control. The wisdom of Scripture echoes this truth—that what we sow in faith, we will one day reap in due season, if we do not lose heart. That kind of waiting is more than an agricultural practice; it’s a way of life that makes Lawrence County a great place for all of us.
Farmers know you can’t rush growth. You tend the ground, watch the skies, and trust that, in time, with God’s help, what was hidden will push through and bear fruit. The Bible often compares this kind of patience to the farmer who waits for the early and latter rains, knowing that the harvest cannot be hurried by human hands. That patience shapes more than crops; it shapes character. It teaches endurance, humility, and the wisdom to accept that some things are beyond our control.
The harvest reminds us that life, too, moves in seasons. There are times to plant, times to nurture, and times to gather. There are also seasons when the field lies bare, waiting for renewal. Like the wisdom from Ecclesiastes reminds us, there is a time and purpose for everything under heaven. When we invest in schools, infrastructure, and economic development, it may be years before we see the results. But like seed in the soil, the quiet work of faith and investment eventually yields something good.
There is also a humility in harvest. Farmers will tell you that no amount of planning or skill can guarantee a perfect crop. Weather, pests, markets—so much lies beyond their control. Yet year after year, they rise before dawn, put their hands to the work, and trust that their labor will not be in vain. That kind of resilience is something we can all carry into our own lives, no matter what our “field” looks like.
At a time when the world is quick to reward speed, convenience, and instant results, the farmer’s example calls us back to older truths. Growth takes time. Good things are worth waiting for. And what you plant, with care and persistence, will one day bear fruit.
So as combines move steadily across Lawrence County’s fields, may we pause to give thanks—not only for the grain in the bin, but for the lessons harvest teaches: patience, hope, endurance, and gratitude. These are the true fruits of the season.