Tundra Talk
Lessons from the Berry Patch
by
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Keep Reaching
“Oooooo,” I groan under my breath. I stand and rub my lower back for a minute trying to relieve a little of the ache and tightness that is there from bending and stooping most of the afternoon. Complaining thoughts crouch at the edge of my mind. Thoughts about wishing the bushes weren’t so low and the tundra wasn’t so wet and lumpy. I immediately correct my thinking to a thankful attitude of gratitude for all God’s freely given provisions. My only responsibility is the picking. He has provided the land, done the planting and the watering. I smile in thankfulness and stoop again to pick. Surrendering to the task at hand.
As I pick I am reminded that God also has a spiritual harvest field. A harvest field that is in need of workers. And I wonder about my posture. Am I bent, surrendered and obedient to the way God wants to use me in “harvesting” for Him? Am I willing to bear up under the weight of working for His kingdom?
I think about my motions of picking; looking, bending, stooping, reaching. Bending before God. Bending in submission and surrender. Bending in repentance. Bending in worship and prayer. Looking for what God has for me. Looking for the place where I am able to use the gifts and talents He has bestowed upon me that they might be used for His glory. Stooping low, having a servant’s heart. Stooping to make the effort. Stooping even if no one notices. And reaching. Reaching to others. Others who need teaching, hugging, visiting, friendship, time, love, forgiveness. Reaching requires openness and willingness. Reaching requires action and obedience.
Another handful of berries plop into my almost-full bucket. My back is tired and sore, but come this winter it will be worth the effort. In the same way, our efforts for God’s kingdom, although tiring and difficult in this present life, are reaping an eternal reward. A harvest of souls that will remain for all eternity; lives that have been changed for Jesus. A harvest that leaves no room for regrets or remembers the struggles and difficulties. It is a harvest that rejoices with thankfulness for the efforts given by the workers. We are those workers.
“For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.” I Corinthians 3:9
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About the Book
Tundra Talk is a thirty-one-day devotional with the setting in the rural Arctic of Alaska. It is filled with thought-provoking, soul-searching, spirit-nurturing messages that connect the beauty of God’s creation, the fruit of the tundra, and the relationship these can have to our own spiritual walk with God.
About the Author
Doris Van Amburg lives in the rural Iñupiat village of Noatak in northwestern Alaska with her husband of 25 years. There, 70 miles above the Arctic Circle, she has raised her family of four and brings God’s Word and Love to those around her. Her family participates in subsistence activities during the arctic seasons including berry picking, using a set net for salmon, ice fishing, hunting for moose and caribou, and gathering wood. As a resident of a fly-in native Alaskan village, she continues in her journey of learning to trust God, His timing, and His provision that comes in all seasons of life.