Plow a New Field

Plow a New Field

by Donna Mumma

“For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind”

(Isaiah 65:17,ESV).

My dad farmed. Every year I watched him plow a field on our dairy farm to prepare for a new crop. A freshly turned field held the hopes of a bountiful harvest and great things to come.

But some years, the crops suffered from bad weather, insect infestations, or unknown causes of ruin. Our harvest proved smaller than expected. The money we had hoped for failed to materialize. Our best-laid plans withered.

Like all true farmers, Daddy never looked back. Farmers accept the logic that these things happen in their business. Instead of lamenting or stressing, he hooked up his plow and turned the soil in a different field. New fields hold promise. Farmers cannot risk sacrificing promise by looking back at a failed crop.

As writers, we can relate to the farmer’s plight. Some years we may enjoy a productive crop of writing successes and see many projects come to our audiences. Other years we may struggle to get our work noticed or represented. Our book sales could reap less than we’d projected and hoped. Negative reviews might cast doubt on our ability and tarnish the promise of a new book or article.  The temptation to dwell on a bad year can wither our plans for the future.

The farmer’s logic encourages us not to waste our writing promises of fresh seasons, projects, and opportunities by looking back. Isaiah reminds us God makes everything new. We can forget about what happened by trusting in God’s word. We can face the new year and the hope it brings.

No matter what happened in former seasons, we get to start fresh. Our past turns over with the soil into a memory as we plow the fields of a new spring with divine promise.

Gracious Father, thank you for allowing us new beginnings, new hopes and promises with this coming year. May we all embrace this gift and keep looking ahead to what you have planned for us. Amen.

* A previous version of this devotion appeared on Inkspirations Online in January, 2020.

Donna Mumma perfected storytelling in her first grade classroom, spinning tales exciting enough to settle a roomful of antsy six-year-olds. She loves to blend history, mystery, and faith in her novels, which include Fresh Scars, The Women of Wynton’s, and First Comes Marriage . . . Then Comes Murder.  A native Floridian, she now lives on the Sunshine State’s west coast, sharing life with her family, and her energetic collie, Duke. Connect with her at www.donnamumma.me., Facebook at Donna Mumma, or Instagram at donnamumma_writer.

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