Planting seeds is an act of faith. Pulling weeds is perseverance. Amending the muddy soil with rotted compost and fine pieces of sand drains sweat with the digging. Depositing tiny seeds into an expanse of dirt looks like folly. For weeks, nothing appears. Just when you've put Hope to bed, a blink of green hits your eye. You look closer - did I really see a sprout?? Ah Ha! Finally. Sigh. Success. Yet, this seedling's journey is just beginning.
Life is so active, vital. Always moving: always establishing new benchmarks, new goals, new highs. If it's not moving, it's dead. But is that really true? Dormant seeds are long dead to the impatient. Then they erupt in front of those who forgot all about them. Where did that come from??
God plants many seeds that take much more than a season to emerge. He carefully tends them, watching for weeds and pests. He shows us patience. He calls us over to see the tiny life that is fighting upward from the muck, literally using the waste of the old to fuel new growth. His song is Expectancy.
God is so patient. Any patience I have must come from Him. He knows it's hard for me to wait because He knows everything about me (Ps. 139). My Life is a lot of waiting - and waiting is not my favorite thing. But He knows the timing better than I. And I have to wait, for His ways to work themselves out (His ways are not my ways, Isa. 55:8).
While I wait, Abba cultivates my character. In doing all the necessary business of life: paying bills, correspondence, chores, I practice consistency, responsibility and perseverance. "Learn what pleases the Lord," Paul exhorts in Ephesians 5:10. When my heart is fertile and hears His Words, may He quicken courage in me to follow.
I do not wait without Hope that He will act. He promises to act (Rom. 8:28).
Love this. Thank you for sharing. And for the reminder to persevere, waiting and expecting God to bring the growth and change we so desperately long for.
ReplyDelete