Autumn Harvest
Contributed by Sun Lee, a student at Nine Star Education and Employment Services
“Mother, I’ll give you a job, so you have to say thank you!” “What are you talking about, son? How much will you pay me?”
We burst into laughter hearing my 99-year-old-mother’s English expression in her conversation with my husband. It happened when my husband handed her perilla stalks and asked her to strip the leaves.
As I look a the once-lush green leaves on the trees turning yellow, I sense frost will come soon.
Chives, scallions, lettuce, and Napa cabbage are strong against the cold and endure frost well.
Pumpkins, peppers, perilla, and cucumbers, on the other hand, are ruined by frost.
Potatoes must also be dug up before they freeze.
When I first came to Alaska, it snowed in early September.
But now, even though we are in mid-September, the daytime sunshine feels warm, and before I knew it, it’s harvest season.
When you tend a garden, you are busy from spring through fall-sowing, watering, weeding, thinning – and the busiest time of all is the harvest.
If you don’t gather the crops quickly before the frost, you’ll lose much.
We leave just enough peppers to enjoy fresh and either freeze the rest or pickle them.
Pepper leaves are boiled and seasoned as namul or dried to be used later in winter, even brewed into tea.
Perilla leaves are treated similarly – large ones are pickled; small ones are blanched, frozen, and later stir-fried through the winter.
I planted a few American pumpkin seeds at the edge of the pepper bed.
But American pumpkin leaves are too big and coarse to eat.
Since I love pumpkin-leaf wraps, I planted Korean pumpkin seeds in a sunny spot outside.
Though no pumpkins grew, I at least enjoyed the pumpkin-leaf wraps I longed for.
Autumn Comes to Life, Too
Autumn comes to life as well.
As I notice my hair turning white one strand at a time – like it has been touched by frost – I know autumn has come to me.
What did I sow in the spring of my life, and how did I tend those seeds through my summer years?
Now that I have reached the harvest season of life, is there anything to reap?
If I count with my fingers, there is nothing that seems tangible.
Human beings are spiritual creatures; unlike pigs, we are not satisfied just by filling our bellies.
Did I spend my time only pursuing physical comfort?
That will vanish when the body fails,
but if I have planted and nurtured nourishment for the spirit,
there will be much to harvest beyond this life.
Still, it is not too late.
Time that has passed cannot be retrieved,
and tomorrow remains a mystery.
This very moment, while my mind is still alive, must be the best of my remaining days.
From above, time stretches from eternity to eternity,
but from a human perspective, past, present, and future are but a fleeting moment.
That is why we must practice planting and cultivating even our fleeting thoughts with good things.
Just as my soul is precious, let me care for the souls of others, too.
As much effort as I put into my physical health,
I must search the Word each day to nourish my spirit.