Inspired by the talk “The Imperfect Harvest” by Elder Vern P. Stanfill
In the beginning of his talk, Elder Stanfill spoke of watching his father harvest their grain crop. He mentioned how he stopped and adjusted the machine and continued several times. He also remembered finding grain that the machine did not catch and the lesson his father taught him was that the harvest was good enough for what the machine could do.
Later, Elder Stanfill spoke of winter and the geese that migrated through their farm and stopped and ate the grain that the machine had missed. “God had perfected it. And not a kernel was lost.”
In our lives, we are the machine and the Lord is the one making the adjustments to us. The choices we make can make those adjustments easier or harder, but as with the grain Elder Stanfill spoke of, our harvest will be imperfect but the Lord will perfect it and make sure that not one kernel is lost.
I am often frustrated by my own imperfections. However I am reminded of the story of Ruth as she went to glean from the fields of Boaz after the harvesters were done. The Lord had a plan for the imperfections. They were needed to help, support, and aid someone. Oftentimes we do dot see who our imperfections help but through the Lord they will be perfected in that they are used to help another.
Another way our imperfections are used to help is when the Lord uses them to help perfect us.
Elder Stanfill said, “Remember that perfectionism is not the same as being perfected in Christ. Perfectionism requires an impossible, self-inflicted standard that compares us to others. This causes guilt and anxiety and can make us want to withdraw and isolate ourselves.
Becoming perfected in Christ is another matter. It is the process — lovingly guided by the Holy Ghost — of becoming more like the Savior. The standards are set by a kind and all-knowing Heavenly Father and clearly defined in the covenants we are invited to embrace. It relieves us of the burdens of guilt and inadequacy, always emphasizing who we are in the sight of God. While this process lifts us and pushes us to become better, we are measured by our personal devotion to God that we manifest in our efforts to follow Him in faith. As we accept the Savior’s invitation to come unto Him, we soon realize that our best is good enough and that the grace of the loving Savior will make up the difference in ways we cannot imagine.”
I know that for me personally being content with my best, imperfect as it is, is a hard thing for me. Coming to understand that though I may fall short at times, when I continue to do my best my Savior will make it enough and oftentimes abundantly more than what I could have done or even imagined.
The principle of enough and abundance is taught in the story of the Savior feeding the five thousand. There was a boy who had five barley loaves and two small fishes. This, as I’m sure you can tell, is hardly enough to feed five thousand people. Having been the mother of growing boys I can well imagine that it may have been his lunch.
What happened next has always struck me. In John 6:11-12 it says, “And Jesus took the loaves; and when he had given thanks, he distributed to the disciples, and the disciples to them that were set down; and likewise the fishes as much as they would. When they were filled, he said unto his disciples, Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost.”
Rebecca’s life; and when he had given thanks, he talked to her bishop about where she was needed, the bishop gave her a calling, the relief society president gave her sisters to minister to. She gave as much as she had to give to both, and even when she felt she fell short the Savior gathered up the fragments that nothing would be lost.
My relationship with my Savior and elder Brother is deep and personal. He is grateful for my efforts in doing what He has asked of me. He magnifies my efforts and makes my harvest abundant as he perfects the harvest I give Him. No fragment of my life no matter how small, inconvenient, or painful is lost or forgotten.
This is what that verse says to me. It says that He loves me, that I matter and that what I do and my efforts though imperfect matter to Him.
This is true for you as well. He is your personal Savior. Your elder brother who wants to help, heal, and perfect you.
Elder Uchtdorf taught:
“I believe the Savior Jesus Christ would want you to see, feel, and know that He is your strength. That with His help, there are no limits to what you can accomplish. That your potential is limitless. He would want you to see yourself the way He sees you. And that is very different from the way the world sees you….”
Seeking to see ourselves and others as the Savior sees us, as our Heavenly Parents see us can be difficult. For me it helped when I changed what I viewed as family. When I remember that we are all children of God, we are all brothers and sisters. It helps me come closer to seeing others and myself as He sees us.
Sometimes I catch a glimpse of who I am in His eyes and he sees such a strong, confident, can do anything person that I marvel as that is who I am to Him. It is not what I see in the mirror or what I feel when I put my foot in my mouth and say the wrong thing in a social setting. However eternally that is who I am and who I am becoming. Step by step, choice by choice, moment by moment with my Savior’s help.
Elder Stanfill states, “We must remember that whatever our best-but-imperfect offering is, the Savior can make it perfect. No matter how insignificant our efforts may seem, we must never underestimate the Savior’s power…. Our clumsy efforts can lead to miracles, and in the process, we can participate in a perfect harvest.”
Recently I gave a talk in sacrament meeting. Now I love to write and feel good about what I write and sharing it with all of you is a pleasure. Giving talks not so much. My heart races, my anxiety spikes, and I get so nervous I often feel that the wonderful words I wrote somehow don’t get across because of my delivery. I felt this way after giving my first talk in a new ward. I gave my talk praying that whoever needed it could feel from the Spirit what they needed.
At the end of relief society a sister came up and thanked me for my talk. She said it meant a lot to her. Just a simple moment of thanks. For me it was a recognition of a perfect harvest of imperfect efforts. This is how He works. This is the abundance of the Lord.
As Elder Stanfill says, “Regardless of how insignificant our efforts may seem, if we are sincere, the Savior will use us to accomplish His work. If we simply do the best we can and trust Him to make up the difference, we can become part of the miracles that surround us.
The Savior stands ready to accept our humble offerings and perfect them through His grace. With Christ there is no imperfect harvest. We must have the courage to believe that His grace is for us — that He will help us, rescue us from the depths when we falter, and perfect our less-than-perfect efforts.”
It does take courage, to trust Him, to believe Him, to know that what you have to offer is enough and is good. He will make it perfect. He will make it abundant. I testify that He will and he does. He has for me, and He will for you.
