Mashing up Psalm 126, James 5, and therapy. Set to music by the inimitable Paul Zach:
We sowed the fields in sorrow
and watered them with tears,
but we will reap tomorrow
the harvest of our years.
The hopes all came to nothing,
the seedlings choked with thorns,
but something else is growing
among the seeds we've sown.
At dawn, we went out weeping,
seeds falling from our hands,
but we will come home singing
when dusk has touched the land.
Then let the rains come early,
and let the rains come late.
The seasons still are turning,
if only we will wait.
So watch the fields with patience
and love the fallen seeds;
the God who hears us praying
will give us all we need.
It won't be what we planted
or what we understood.
It won't be what we wanted,
but, oh!, it will be good.
The grasses withered in the heat;
the streams have all run dry,
and hope lies shattered in defeat,
yet God still hears our cry.
The walls we lifted, stone on stone,
lie scattered on the sands—
yet see the wonders God has done:
Alive again we stand!
And what we lost, God will restore,
though it may still be long,
for we will live in peace once more
to raise a joyful song.
We sowed the fields with bitter seeds
and watered them with tears,
but we will harvest, rich and sweet,
the sheaves of fallen years.
And all we've lost will come again—
O God, may it be soon!
And let the welcome feast begin,
the withered flowers bloom!
When all our loves return once more,
all sorrows are destroyed,
the desert streambeds overflow
and heaven weeps for joy!
Psalm 126 – Two human figures are looking up, one with parted lips and the other with his left arm stretched out. To the left of the word are two more human figures, with eyes closed and inclined heads resting on their right hands. The latter illustrate v.1, ‘When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream’, and the former, either the word shir (song) of the superscription, or v.2, ‘Then our mouth was filled with… shouts of joy’. By Unknown author – The Parma Psalter, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=26033837
Kate Bluett 