Have I ever told you about the time I almost became a farmer? Okay, well, not exactly, but it was on the shortlist.

When I was in college and began voicing that I felt a call to ministry, my mom signed me up to take multiple aptitude tests through The Johnson O’Conner Research Foundation (which itself has a unique history with Ford Motor Company, but I digress). The purpose of the foundation’s work is to measure people’s skills, helping them find which areas of work they are best suited for. After all the tests, researchers sat down with me to review the top five areas my skillset could apply to. Among those top five? Clergy. And farmer/rancher.

Now, we all know which way that went. I have no idea how I would have turned out as a farmer apart from the fact that I have the furthest thing from a green thumb. But there is a piece of farming wisdom that I find myself thinking about this summer: the idea of letting a field lay fallow.

If you’ve not heard of this, letting a field lay fallow is to deliberately not plant anything in a field normally used for growing. Usually it’s done for a season, but sometimes it’s done for even longer—maybe even years. In some ways, this summer has been a fallow season of ministry; just take a look at the August calendar in the newsletter!

But here’s the thing about fallow fields: the whole point is that by letting a field rest, the soil takes on nutrients and becomes better soil for future growth. I recently listed out all the things coming up on Calvary’s calendar for myself, and from September through December this year…wow. It’s a lot. And it’ll be good stuff! But in the meantime, we get to steward the energy and resources of our ministry together to simply rest. And, last I checked, sabbath rest is pretty biblical!

So, dear ones, enjoy the rest of your summers before yet another season slips past us. Treasure the fallow fields in your lives that you are able to find. And, rather than acting as another item on your to-do lists, let church be a place of rest for you. As the words of forgiveness tell us in our worship this season: Rest in God’s love.

Pastor Zach ☩