Welcome to Harvest

This past weekend, my husband and I took our 8 month old son to a nearby orchard to pick some apples. It was primarily for the memories my husband and I will have, but we will be enjoying the fruit of our labor for at least the next week.  

The timing between that family outing and the writing of this first blog post feels almost serendipitous. As I reflect on “harvest,” my mind immediately goes to that hour, standing in the October sun, slight breeze rustling the leaves, and the smells of fuji apples, ripening on the branch.  

 I imagine you have a distinct idea of your own as you think of “harvest.” Perhaps you’ve had a similar experience, picking apples or another fruit. Maybe you’ve grown your own summer garden, and tasted the joy of picking a perfect tomato from the vine, often too good to make it back inside the house.  

 Or, your mind goes to stories you’ve read about the first Thanksgiving, where pilgrims and Native Americans broke bread together and celebrated the harvest, after pilgrims were saved by their Native neighbors and saved from starvation.  

 Perhaps your mind goes to a more industrial image of farming, where large machinery brings in the crops at the end of the season, or migrant farm workers labor under the hot sun.  

Whatever you mentally picture, we know that a harvest is a collection of crops at the end of a growing season. When the sower reaps the rewards of their hard labor and the fruit of that labor is enjoyed by themselves and others.  

 Even those of us who work outside of agriculture can think of labor in a similar way. We toil, putting time and energy into various projects and efforts, hoping to taste the sweet reward at the end of a season. Maybe you’ve experienced some of this, or maybe you’re in a season where your soil needs to lie fallow, or perhaps your crop seems to have experienced an external force preventing it from flourishing.

Wherever you are at your growth journey, we meet you there.

Welcome to Harvest by Harper Slade, a blog for leaders about growth and work cultures saturated in abundance mindsets. Check back regularly. We’ll be sharing tips and insight into how to move your work towards harvest.

Also, visit our YouTube channel where we share videos, expounding on these blog posts as well as other content.

-Jaeden Thomas