A Word to Live Into
Glean is a word worth embracing right now. The seasons are changing. Time keeps moving on. This moment is ripe to notice not only the world around you but the world within you. What can you glean from this life you have been given?
Glean is also a good word to embrace now because it points us to something more, something truer than our temptation to mindlessly consume things, find immediate answers, and move on. Within seconds, we can find out what something is, how to use it, fix it, or evaluate it through our search engines or AI. Gleaning is different. It takes time. It happens bit by bit, often patiently. Gleaning involves discovery. It often reveals things we may not even know how to ask for or search for. And we often glean more than we can imagine. (1) And that is the power and the appeal of it.
In the Bible, gleaning provided for those in need. (2) Farmers would leave some grain, grapes, or olives in the edges of the field after the harvest so that those in need could glean the leftovers. When done well, it encouraged kindness and generosity. It was also interpersonal. The farmer had a role, and the person gleaning had a role. You could only glean when you went to the field. You had to believe there was something there for you. You also had to wait for it. The field needed time to produce a crop. They had to see beyond the moment and put their hope and trust in something bigger than themselves. Gleaning points to a greater truth. All of life is grace.
While most of us are not farmers, what if we lived in a way that left something for others to glean? What if we sought to glean the goodness God has prepared for us?
There is something else worth considering from the Biblical practice of gleaning. The farmer planned to live from an overflow. He would not use up all the fruit of his labors at the harvest. The farmer lived with reserves. Do you have some reserves? Are you running on empty? Are you consistently pushing yourself to the limit? Do you worry that you do not have enough or that you are not enough? Do you have some love, some energy, some capacity within your heart and your mind and your time leftover to offer to others? Is there something to glean?
You also can be the one who gleans. To a great extent, your life is what you glean out of it. When you look out at your day, when you look out at your life, is it all knotted up? Does it feel like a confining path on which you are required to remain, or do you see and believe there is hope and possibility? Your life is the result of the decisions you make, and you still get to make decisions. There is more yet to glean.
Our life is a process of becoming. It involves letting go of the version of yourself you thought you should be. It involves letting go of other people’s plans or visions or dreams. It involves seeing and appreciating who you are and the life you have. You can only be who you are in the life you have now.
Each day, you can glean glory, grace, and goodness; be honest; and learn from the failings, faults, tendencies, and habits that both help and hinder you. We see this in the story of the ancient Israelites. After miraculously crossing the Red Sea, they found themselves in the desert and became discouraged. It was not what they had imagined for themselves. They complained to their leader, Moses. Moses turned to God to glean some wisdom. The Lord said to Moses, “I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for the day.” (3)
You can only be where you are. Like the Israelites, you may be in a place you never imagined for yourself. Or you may be like the farmer, whose strength for renewal came from living with reserves. Either way, there is something for you to glean, something good to receive that will be enough for today.
How to live into the word: glean…
To glean, you need to believe that there is something to receive. What would it look like to have a posture of openness? Is there something you need to let go of?
Consider how you can arrange your schedule to allow for some reserves. Start small. Keep it simple. What could you do daily, weekly, or monthly to have some space to glean?
Start a glean notebook. Make a note of blessings you received from God. Jot down things you notice, discover, or learn. Write down the names of people who showed you kindness or love, and the names of people you know who are in need. Share your thoughts about it all with God.
Let the morning bring you word of God’s unfailing love. (see Psalm 143:8) Spend a quiet moment with God each day; remember and receive God’s love for you.
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1. Ruth 2, 4:13-15
2. Lev 19:9-10. 23:22
3. Ex 16:4
