The purple orbs bulge and cascade in clusters. Grape harvesting time is here. Grape wine, juice, jelly—delicious in taste, resplendent in gustatory expectation. But first, the mess, the stains, the intense labor. Is it worth it? Dick Ryan writes: “Whatever happens to me in life, I must believe that somewhere, in the mess or madness of it all, there is a sacred potential–a possibility for wondrous redemption in the embracing of all that is.”  Although Ryan wasn’t speaking of grape harvest, the analogy applies. The willingness to bottle or can, taking on the demands of cooking and the mess—oh, the mess—redeems me of my selfishness. I surrender to the yearly harvest and its possibilities. Aged wine—the redeeming quality. Wine transformed into the Blood of Christ, fulfilling its sacred potential. The harvest has eternal rewards.