I hear this word from time to time and I know what it means but I actually thought about it the other day. I sometimes hear it in church, too, when we send people to a field that has already been harvested to glean the crops that were missed in the harvest.

Glean –
1. to gather slowly and laboriously, bit by bit.
2.to gather (grain or the like) after the reapers or regular gatherers.
3.to learn, discover, or find out, usually little by little or slowly.

The second definition is the one that I am thinking about today. How often do you go back over ground that you have walked (discussed) before and find new and valuable material? Probably not often. In fact, when you find yourself on that old turf you might even get frustrated.

I hated to “check my work” back in school. I knew the first answer was usually the right answer and I rarely had to change an answer. Besides, going back over the work was a hassle(but I did it).

Success comes to us when we do what others will not. When others have moved quickly past and taken the easy way do you take the slower but potentially more lucrative way? When others have taken a quick lesson from a problem do you glean to find the richer lesson?

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