detail from: The Gleaners by Jean-Francois Millet, 1857
Gleaning (Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer)
(with thanks to Erika Moss)
She arrived with a dozen pears
she had gleaned from an orchard.
I place them in a scalloped dish
and sniff the naked air,
hungry for the scent of pear.
I think of gleaning,
The wisdom in gathering
What has been left behind.
How now, I glean memories
that at first were passed over
in favor of others that were sweeter,
or bigger, or more perfectly formed,
But now, it’s these smaller, harder
memories that sustain me.
I love walking the rows of the mind
and finding memories still hanging,
ready to be picked.
I gather them into the bowl of my heart.
How precious they are, every one.
Detail from Gleaning by Arthur Hughes 1856
This is the season of harvesting and gleaning.
Gleaning refers to the act of collecting leftover crops (such as olives, grapes, and wheat) from farmers' fields after harvesting. In the Old Testament, farmers were instructed (by Rabbinical law) to leave the edges of their fields unharvested and to refrain from going back to pick up any crops leftover from harvesting. They should leave what remains for the widows, strangers and orphans. Currently, many organizations still practice food recovery by collecting and distributing unused food from grocery stores, farmers' markets, restaurants, etc.
In the above poem, Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer, speaks about gleaning the varied memories of our lives, both those that are sweeter, which we love to gather up and hold close, and the memories which are painful and more difficult to hold. And to know both as precious. In her own life, Rosemerry is learning how to hold both the sweet and bitter following the tragic death of her son at age 16 in 2021.
Two familiar biblical passages that speak of gleaning or gathering of fragments (not letting anything be wasted) include the following:
(excerpts from Ruth 2. NRSV) Then Boaz said to his young man who was in charge of the reapers, “To whom does this young woman belong?” The young man who was in charge of the reapers answered, “She is the young Moabite woman (Ruth) who came back with Naomi from the country of Moab. She said, ‘Please, let me glean and gather among the sheaves behind the reapers.’ So she came, and she has been on her feet from early this morning until now without resting even for a moment"...
Boaz instructed his young men, “Let her glean even among the standing sheaves, and do not reproach her. You must also pull out some handfuls for her from the bundles and leave them for her to glean, and do not rebuke her.” Jesus feeds the five thousand (John 6:11-13, NRSV)
Then Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks he distributed them to those who were seated; so also the fish, as much as they wanted. When they were satisfied, he told his disciples, “Gather up the fragments left over, so that nothing may be lost.” So they gathered them up, and from the fragments of the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten, they filled twelve baskets.
Vincent Van Gogh, The Sower
Blessing:
For those of us who are blessed to sow... may we sow generously:
for ourselves
and those who will be fed from our harvest.
May we harvest with a heart for those who don't have enough.
May there be abundance in what remains...
for the hungry to gather up
and carry home.
May our sweet and the bitter memories
be gathered and held in "the bowl of our heart."
May they, too, be food for us and others.
Let nothing be wasted
in the harvest
of our lives.
In her song, Every Little Bit of It, Carrie Newcomer sings of noticing and gathering in "every little bit" of our lives..
(https://youtu.be/9P4zi8ljf8A?si=HTB1hsJycPld4BUt)
for reflection:
How might God be calling you to a practice of gleaning so that nothing is lost or wasted?
How might holding both lovely and difficult memories feed your spirit and bless others?
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