Let us not grow weary in doing good,
for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.
Galatians 6:9
Back in the October, I planted a little fall garden on the side of our house. Nothing fancy, but it has been something I have thoroughly enjoyed. I planted three broccoli plants, three cauliflower, three brussels sprouts, three purple cabbage and some onions.
It has been so much fun to watch all of the plants grow! To rush out to look at the garden each day to see how they have changed. Some days or weeks they didn’t seem to grow much, but other days after a good rain, they seemed to have doubled in size.
Of my three broccoli plants, one grew much larger than the others. My inquisitive three year old daughter would beg me to pick it each day. I would tell her it wasn’t quite “big enough” yet and that we would pick it soon.
Funny thing is, I never researched what was actually big enough when you need to harvest. I just went off what size the ones were that I’ve bought at the grocery store. I went to Arkansas one week in February for work and when I returned my biggest healthiest broccoli had sprouted out into a bunch of thin little shoots with yellow blooms. After googling, I found out this means I waited too long to pick it. Once the yellow petals show themselves, the quality decreases rapidly. The broccoli turns bitter in taste and loses its nutritional value. Well, dang!
All of the hard work, all of the anxiously checking the garden each day to see how much it has grown, anticipating the day that I would get to pick it and cook it for my family, was for nothing. I waited too long, waiting for something bigger and better and I missed it altogether.
Side note… I’m writing this as I’m sitting in the front seat of my silver Honda Pilot that’s parked in my driveway that overlooks my little garden. I’m sitting in my car because I have two precious and wild babies and the only way they were going to surrender to a nap today is if I strapped them in their glorious car seats.
Back to broccoli… As I am sitting here, a convicting thought entered my head.
What if that is what happens when God plants a seed in us? A spiritual gift planted inside of us that He nurtures and lovingly watches grow.
But when the time is right, when we’re ready to produce the healthiest, most fruitful life-giving and nutritional soulful fruit from our labors, we do nothing. We decide out of fear not step out in faith. We let that dream, vision, new passion, talent, new job or opportunity pass us by because were waiting for something bigger and better and more exciting to come along. Something more stable, more financially secure, safer. We rely on society’s standards of what is worthy and go on believing we’re not good enough, smart enough, or qualified enough yet and …sigh… we miss the moment. The job gets filled by somebody else, someone else successfully pursues your passion, someone else starts the business… And just like that, your soul turns bitter. You feel discouraged, disappointed, deflated. This might sound pretty dreadful, huh? Geez… thanks for the ray of sunshine, Kate. Well here is the sunshine part: I can plant more broccoli. I don’t only get to plant one broccoli my whole life. God will plant innumerable seeds of goodness within us during our lives. You can ask the best farmers and they didn’t get it right their first planting and harvest season.
So here is my action plan: Keep planting. Keep nurturing. Keep nurturing the dreams that God has given you. Keep watering them and allowing them to get plenty of sunlight. Don’t keep them hidden. If God reveals a talent, passion, our gift you have that has the potential to bless others and bring them close to him, do not give up. Some seeds might produce fruit quickly and some might take months or even years? (Random fact for you – an asparagus seed takes THREE years to actually start producing asparagus!)
So whatever you do, do not give up. We are each a child of God created on purpose with a purpose. You were created to produce such wonderful fruit that no one else on this earth can produce but you.
“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” – Galatians 6:9